The Noble Nine: A Kill BillEsque Tale of Revenge
by EBell
Summary: The nine most popular video game characters on GameFAQs in a Kill Bill-inspired scenario. Rated T for language and violence. Complete.
1. The Great War

"_One sole desire, one passion now remains_

_To keep life's fever still within his veins_

_Vengeance! dire vengeance on the wretch who cast_

_O'er him and all he lov'd that ruinous blast."_

_Thomas Moore, __Lalla Rookh-The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan

* * *

_

"_Blood will have blood."_

_Afghani proverb

* * *

_

"_And where the offense is, let the great axe fall."_

_William Shakespeare, Hamlet

* * *

_

The only sound in the room was her ragged breathing, coming out in sharp gasps. He looked down at her, no trace of mercy present in his one eye.

"I don't take any pleasure in this." He struck a match and lit a cigarette, letting the noxious fumes fill the blood-soaked air. "It's just business. Sad business, but business all the same."

She looked up at him. A single tear fell from her battered face. She said nothing, nothing but gasps.

"We always said you were untouchable," he continued, "but we were wrong. No one's untouchable. Everyone bleeds just the same. And everyone dies."

He cocked his pistol. She stared at him. He ran a finger through her blonde hair, dyed red with blood. Her eyes were filled with raw, burning… hunger. Not sadness, not shock… hunger. His touch felt foreign to her, like it was happening from a galaxy away.

"Snake…" she whispered.

He pointed the gun in between her eyes, sighing deeply.

"It's your baby –"

_BANG_.

* * *

**1. The Great War**

The rooftop of Hyrule Castle overlooked the city it was named for, a bustling metropolis that precious few years ago had been on the verge of extinction. The setting sun revealed a landscape dotted with merchants, citizens and travelers, all blissfully unaware that, in a matter of moments, its greatest champion would be fighting a battle that would surely be to the death.

Link stared at the woman, her armored back pressed against the brickwork chimney. She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered, the only one who could have ever competed in his eye with the princess of the land he'd worked so hard to save. Her presence here was among the most shocking discoveries of his life, for four years ago he had been part of a group of eight individuals that had seen fit to kill this woman, slowly, painfully, and brutally.

"Link," Samus Aran said, her voice a composition of false sweetness. "It's been a long time. Four years, if I'm not mistaken."

The hero of Hyrule stared at her. "I thought you were dead."

"I think we all did," Samus said, crossing her arms. "But more to the point… you and I have unfinished business."

Link nodded dully. "You came here… to kill me?"

Samus barked a laugh, a hoarse chuckle that didn't match her pretty face. "I always knew you were stupid, Link… but to think that I'd have come here for any purposes other than killing you… I didn't think _anyone_ could be that stupid. Then again, what you did four years ago was impossibly stupid as well, so I guess I've come to expect that much from you."

"I'm not fighting you," Link said, his hand moving slowly to the hilt of his blade. "At least, not yet… not here."

"Going to hide behind your guards? Your princess? That's not going to happen, as you should well know… but we've never been on the best of terms, have we, Link?"

Link grimaced. "No. I don't suppose we have." His grip tightened as he watched Samus. Her eyes held a look of ferocity that he had never seen in any other human being… perhaps Ganondorf's eyes had looked like that, before he slew the former ruler of the land? "But you can't blame me for what happened – "

"I can and I will, you son of a bitch. Enough talking. Let's end this."

"You know what killing me will do to Hyrule, don't you? I'm their hero… their greatest champion."

"Nothing stands in the way of warriors about to do combat. Not love, not honor, not the lives of people you surely don't even care about –"

He swung the Master Sword with all his might, shooting forth a cascade of bright energy at his foe; Samus leapt into the air, dodging the blast and fastening her helmet on in one smooth movement. She pointed her arm cannon at Link and instantly let loose with a barrage of missiles and plasma.

Link blocked all the plasma volleys with his sword and deftly chopped the missiles in half before dashing forward, slashing at Samus's arms. The woman jumped backwards, and Link hesitated with surprise – and in that second, a small bomb exploded at his feet, sending him reeling backwards.

"You miserable coward," she spat through her helmet. "You've always hidden behind your allies. Now I see why."

"You don't know a damn thing about me!" he yelled, grabbing his bow and loading an elemental arrow into the sheath. In the time it took for him to make this move, his legs still smarting from the bomb, Samus had closed the gap, her gun arm extended as a silvery hook emerged from it. Ice and grappling beam met in mid-air, and Samus forcefully latched onto the arrow – and sent it hurtling back at its master within seconds. Link howled in pain as the ice arrow pierced his arm, freezing it solid.

"On the contrary," she said, pointing her arm cannon at his face. "I know _too much_ about you. Knowledge is power, and against you, I'm the strongest woman in the world."

"Freeze!"

* * *

_The dark-skinned man before him smiled. He didn't like it very much. Not many people did, when the smile always preceded a particularly violent death._

"_You have ten seconds," he called, his mocking voice filling the cold dungeon. "Surrender the Triforce, or she dies."_

_He didn't have the Triforce. He didn't even know what a Triforce was. All he knew was that his best friend was being held at swordpoint by the foulest man he'd ever met in his life, a man who'd taken Saria and him from their homes. This man – though Link didn't realize it at the time – was Ganondorf, the ruler of Hyrule's criminal empire. He was searching for a powerful magical artifact, and he'd gotten a hint that the forest children knew where it was – and when Ganondorf wanted something, woe to any who denied it to him._

"_Eight seconds, boy."_

"_I don't – I don't know what you're talking about! Just let her go! Please!"_

_The girl, Saria, was trembling. Perhaps she understood the severity of the situation better than Link truly did. Perhaps she was as clueless as he was and was just shivering from the underground dungeons. Snake never specified this to me; I can only guess._

"_Six seconds."_

_It would be seven years before these two would meet again, and those seven years would find that Link had changed – and Ganondorf had not. This time, things were different. This time, there was a Snake in the forest._

"_Please!" Tears began to well up in Link's young face. "J-Just let her go… take me instead…"_

"_Four seconds."_

_He was never the most exceptional of the Noble Nine, never the smartest or the cleverest. All the same, he came to represent change. Snake had always hypothesized that he just wanted to live a normal life, that he just wanted simple revenge and had the world thrust upon him as a result._

_As if revenge is ever simple._

"_Three."_

_Why did Snake put up with him? I always assumed it was because of the sword. That damn sword… once Ganondorf's, now Link's by default. The Master Sword. Forged by goddesses to defend against evil and protect Hyrule, or so the myths go. I never put much stock in Hyrulian gibberish. But I know a good sword when I see one, and the Master Sword is among the best. And it only responded to Link's touch. Maybe it just needed a new master. After all, I understand how weapons can become a part of you._

"_Two seconds, boy."_

_He never interacted with the Nine much outside of missions, and even then, he kept to himself. Sometimes I wondered what was going through that head of his, and if it could be of any use to us. Hyrule loved him, never suspecting his double life as a killer, never realizing they had traded in one devil for the next. The princess became part of the entourage. Did she love him, or was she just indebted to him for freeing the land? And did she truly ever realize what kind of man he was? Did she care?_

"_One!"_

"_LINK!"_

_Then, four years ago happened. I don't know what happened in between then and now. But I know what has to be done. There is an old Chozo saying about revenge… that those who plot the destruction of others often perish in the attempt. But the Chozo are a dead race, a testament to the futility of non-violence. Their spirit lives on in me, and I desecrate it simply by existing. The time for peace is over._

_Now, a great war will be waged for my vengeance, and woe to any who deny it to me.

* * *

_

Samus didn't need to turn around to recognize what had happened – as Link had undoubtedly been hoping, their fight had attracted the Hyrulian guards.

"Let me through, please…"

She recognized that voice…

Zelda stopped dead in her tracks. Samus turned around to meet her, watching with grim satisfaction as the princess let out an audible gasp.

"Samus…"

"Stand down, princess! Our champion is in danger!" Fifteen guards had drawn their bows and were pointing arrows directly at her.

Zelda's eyes were wide. Was she afraid? Was she, too, fully aware that Samus represented the end of her life, the reaper come to collect on old debts? Or was it something else… was it that harbinger of last chances, that emotion of the damned and dying? Was it regret?

"Guards," she said, her voice soft but commanding. "Stand down ."

"But my princess –"

"You may leave us, Captain. I will handle this intruder personally."

Slowly the captain of the guards lowered his bow, and the rest of the men followed his lead. They backed slowly into the turret they'd entered from, leaving the three of them alone atop the castle roof.

"I beseech you –" Zelda began, but Samus raised an arm instantly.

"No. You beseech me nothing. You don't get to beseech a damn thing. All you get to do is watch and wait."

"I know there's no stopping you. All I ask is that you wait until tonight. In the coliseum. Without the suit."

Samus raised an eyebrow, hidden behind her helmet. "Why should I?"

"Because you'll win too easily this way. There's no reward –"

"Oh, there's plenty of reward," Samus said coldly.

"And should you win, you can kill me as well."

"And what's stopping me from doing that anyway?"

Zelda smiled darkly. "I'd like to think that, deep down, that code of honor we used to share… I'd like to think it still remains."

"Said code of honor expired when eight men tag-teamed one woman and an unborn child."

"You're better than that. The Samus I knew was better than that. It's your choice. If you're going to do it now, at least be quick about it."

The only sound atop the sunset-dotted roof was Link's shallow breathing. Samus hesitated. She could kill them both now, oh yes, and be off to her next destination by dawn… so why wasn't she doing it?

"Fine. Midnight in the coliseum. Your champion and I will finish what we started. But know this: I do this not for you, not for the friendship we used to share. I do this for me, and me only."

With that, Samus leapt from the top of the roof and spiraled down in the shadows of Hyrule's night sky.


	2. Hunter

**2. Hunter**

Many had tried to understand the inner workings of the power suit, the last great gift of the mighty Chozo race. Dr. Light once ran a week-long diagnostic on it, determined to find some flaw, some way to destroy it should she go rogue. He found nothing.

The suit's main feature was its responsiveness. It became an extension of the body, able to contort and expand in ways its owner could never have even dreamed of. It stored a battery of weapons in its arm cannon: plasma shots, ice beams, missiles, electric beams. It could shrink to a small ball for extra maneuverability at no harm to the user; it could spiral into a screw attack, a highly damaging form of temporary air propulsion. It was, in essence, a perfect weapon, and it is the main reason why Samus Aran was the most feared woman in the world.

She thought these things as she walked across the dimly lit marketplace. The suit was safely stowed away, a cloaking device Dr. Light had installed for unused occasions activated. She smiled wryly… those who assumed that the power suit _made_ her powerful missed the point: like any good weapon, it was as good as its user, as flexible and malleable as the one who crafted it on a daily basis. As such, she was perfectly comfortable outside of the suit, her energy sword concealed on a belt she wore around a form-fitting jumpsuit. The suit did not make her strong; she was a living weapon herself.

She walked across Hyrule, listening half-heartedly to the conversations of those around her… innocent men and women, bartering for goods, enjoying the night air, resolving peaceful troubles… they all looked to the man she was fully prepared to kill as an inspiration, as proof positive that evil can be overcome. What would happen to them when he died?

Samus shook her head. To think such things would only distract her. She was a warrior, and as she had just told Link earlier that day, nothing could ever truly stand in the way of a warrior about to do battle.

She arrived at the coliseum at five minutes to midnight. Surprisingly, it was empty – Zelda had stayed true to her word – except for the man she had sworn to kill, the first one on her list, the easiest one to find… alarm bells began to ring in her head, as they had when first she had laid eyes upon him earlier…

"Hunter."

He nodded curtly.

"I suppose it's far too late for an apology."

She narrowed her eyes. "You suppose correctly."

"If I could go back and do it all again," Link said, seemingly unfazed by her response, "I'd do some things a little bit differently. But not most of them. There's a Kokiri proverb, that the bad events in your life make you able to create good ones… I think that's true."

"Are you telling me that what happened four years ago will only lead to good things?"

"I wouldn't presume to tell you that, no. I will say this, though… you deserve what's coming to you."

Link drew the Master Sword and curved it downward in an arc in the traditional Hyrulian salute. Samus drew her energy sword. She did not return the gesture.

"And now…" Link said, smiling sadly. "We duel."

Samus dashed toward Link, her pink blade glowing softly in the moonlit air. Steel met heat and light, and the energy sword buckled slightly under the raw strength of the Master Sword. Samus held her ground and swung it around, but Link parried deftly in an overhead slice.

She let her weapon fall forward, stabbing sharply to Link's side, but Link was ready, and he spun in a circle, letting the sword block the blow. Link ended up facing her, and shoved the energy sword away with a powerful thrust. Samus scowled as her midriff was exposed to the blade, and Link took advantage of the opening, but she quickly ducked under the slash, cutting deep into Link's right leg with the heated blade.

"Gah!" Link fell forward, clearly off-balance and in pain; he landed squarely on the pointed end of the energy sword, which fell through his chest like a knife through butter. His eyes went wide with some kind of emotion… pain? Recognition of death? Samus wasn't sure, but she twisted the blade all the same, watching with satisfaction as Link's face grew flushed.

The two stood there for what felt like hours, Samus pressing down on Link's chest and Link clutching tightly, almost defiantly, to the Master Sword. A cool breeze ruffled through Samus's hair. She did not smile.

"Y-You… deserve…" Link coughed, and slid down the energy sword. His grip relaxed on his own weapon, and the Master Sword fell with a clatter to the stone tiles below them, echoing in the empty coliseum.

She withdrew the blade from Link's chest. There was no visible blood on it; as an energy-based weapon, it instantly burned off whatever it accumulated. She stared down at Link's body, his eyes slowly glazing over, and slowly raised her sword, curving it downward.

"So."

She turned around and saw the figure of Princess Zelda approaching from the stands. The woman was not crying.

"Now, finish the job. Descend Hyrule into endless night." She lowered her head to Samus, as if offering it as a sacrifice.

For a moment the two women simply stood there, unmoving. Finally, Samus swung her sword, the whoosh of the instrument coming within an inch of her neck. Then, abruptly, Samus raised the sword and in one flowing motion drew it to Zelda's face, drawing a quick slice from the bridge of her nose to the top of her forehead.

The princess gasped, clutching her hands to her face as blood flowed freely from the wound. "What are you doing?!"

"Something more powerful than revenge." She deactivated the sword and placed it back in her belt.

Zelda gasped through her hands. "I won't return to my land knowing what has transpired here tonight. I _can't!_"

"Exactly. You need to live, because simply taking your life wouldn't satisfy me. You need to live, because living is infinitely more painful for you than dying. You need to live, because someone has to let _them_ know."

"I had nothing to do with –"

"I know. And that's why I'm letting you live. Not because of our former friendship, not because of your people, but because my vengeance begins and ends with those responsible. And you still have a purpose left to serve. Tell them everything. Wear this mark of shame I've given you. And know this: from this day on, you belong to me. You are mine, body and spirit. You will rule over your people and teach them that their hero was a fool who preyed upon the weak. You will rule justly, fairly, and equivocally. And you will tell the others that the Hunter is coming for them, and they will all soon be just as dead as Link."

Samus looked coldly at Zelda's disfigured face. "Good-bye, princess. Pray we never meet again."

"…wait."

Zelda slowly rose to her feet, still clutching her bloody face, obviously making a very concerted effort to not look at Link's body. She motioned to the Master Sword.

"This, too, is yours now."

Samus hesitated, then grabbed the mighty blade, which now felt light to the touch, as if she were wielding an old friend. Indeed, thought Samus as she departed, a weapon is only as strong as the one who uses it… the Hunter was a living weapon herself, after all, which made her stronger than anyone else…

Her heart felt strangely heavy as she retrieved her power suit. Had she not done what she'd set out to do and begin the lengthy process of her revenge? Had she not been successful beyond measure, as she had always been when on the prowl?

Regardless of what had come before, regardless of what she was feeling now, regardless of what awaited her in the future… one thing remained certain.

The Hunter was back.


	3. The Obligation

**3. The Obligation**

The man stepped off his motorcycle and squinted – even with his sunglasses, his eyes were still inferior to the power of the sun. He walked briskly up the stone path to the quaint brick home before him, perched atop a hill overlooking the surrounding town. He rapped on the door twice.

After a few moments' pause, a small man appeared at the door. Were the man in the sunglasses judging by appearances, he would have assumed that this man was completely innocuous, a pudgy, balding, middle-aged person with no discernible traits. But the man in the sunglasses never judged solely by appearances – and furthermore, he knew this man personally.

"Mario," he said.

The pudgy man hesitated. "What are you-a doing here?" he asked in his strangely high-pitched, accented voice.

"I've come to issue a warning. The Hunter is back. Link is dead."

Mario said nothing. Slowly he stepped outside to meet the man in the sunglasses, shutting his door behind him.

"How do you know?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Zelda. She informed me. She's coming for all of us."

Mario nodded, looking out over the hill. He said nothing. Eventually, the man in the sunglasses spoke again.

"We can offer you help –"

But Mario cut him off with an impatient wave of his hand.

"Mario," the man pressed onward, "you need to be careful. It's time to put aside old grudges. It's time to –"

"When I was a little boy," Mario said, speaking in his usual sing-song voice, "my-a momma told me that there are two things I should-a never forget about pain. It's a natural response your body has when you've gone too far… and it's a natural response your-a soul has when you're about to. There's-a much pain in the world today, and there always will be. Do you understand?"

The man in the sunglasses hesitated. "Do you want to die, Mario?"

Mario chuckled softly. "I'm-a no stranger to pain. The question is… which kind?"

The man sighed. Though he was never able to follow Mario's thought processes, he knew enough about him to know that he'd already made up his mind.

"If you need me –" but Mario had already shaken his head.

"I haven't needed-a you for three years. That is not-a going to change now. All I want is for you to wonder about pain, and whether you've-a made the right choice in-a coming here."

Mario reached behind him, opened his door, and walked back into his house. The man in the sunglasses stared up at the sky, thinking bitterly that there were some things even the sun couldn't illuminate.

* * *

The home in the distance was, Samus reflected, the picture of suburban anonymity. An alabaster exterior, two stories of windows, a quaint door knocker… there was even, she saw with a rueful smile, a white picket fence.

She sat in the black car she had managed to procure with what was left of her funds from the days of the Nine, watching the house intently. This home was most likely just as the man who lived there: full of surprises.

Finally Samus slowly stepped out of the car and approached the mailbox. Though she'd never been here personally, she had heard enough reports to know what to do. She tugged on the red mail flag and opened the slot.

"State your business," a cool female voice intoned.

"I wish to see Dr. Thomas Light," she replied.

"Name?"

"Samus Aran."

There was a sound like a motor whirring from inside the mailbox. Samus chanced a look at the house and saw that the lights behind the windows remained dim, the curtains untouched.

Then the voice in the mailbox spoke again. "The doctor is currently indisposed."

"Tell him it's a matter of life and death."

"You are free to make an appointment sometime in the near future –"

"I don't think you understood me. When I say 'it's a matter of life and death,' I mean that it's his own life that's at stake, not mine. If he lets me in now, he may very well live. If not, they'll be cleaning his blood out from the carpet for _years._"

There was a pause. Then the front door slowly opened automatically.

Samus walked in, dressed in casual clothes: jeans and a red shirt. Her suit was stowed safely in her car. It would draw too much suspicion to appear before the quiet town in the uniform of a well-known assassin, after all. The Master Sword, however, was strapped to her back, concealed by a sheath she had bought from a shop on her way.

The house was every bit as fastidious as she expected. Not a speck of dust could be seen across the furniture. Rays of sunlight beamed in through the translucent curtains, spreading shadows across the living room. All in all it seemed, Samus thought, like the most boring place in the universe to live.

"In the basement," intoned a voice over an intercom Samus noticed next to the ceiling lights in the kitchen. She tentatively made her way to a door at a hallway in between the rooms, opening it and peering down a long wooden staircase. Her hand ready to unsheathe the Master Sword if need be, she crept down the stairs.

She was greeted with an intriguing sight: an expansive basement with dim lighting, faded-green walls, and tables that stretched across the entire floor. Numerous closed doors peppered the outer rim, and a man stood with his back to Samus, hunched over a table. When he heard her descent, the man turned around, revealing an elderly, white-haired and -bearded face. His eyes went wide as he reached for his cane.

"Dear God…"

Samus stared at the old man. "Hello, Dr. Light."

"I recognized the voice, but I thought it couldn't be you," he muttered mostly to himself, hobbling over to a chair a few tables down. "How on Earth did you survive?"

"I guess somebody up there really likes me."

Dr. Light took out a handkerchief from his lab coat and dabbed it to his face.

"I daresay I know the reason you're here," he said sagely, staring off into the corner.

She nodded. "That's more than Link could say."

"Y-You got to Link already? Oh my… but then that means…"

Samus motioned to the sword strapped to her back, nodding.

Dr. Light exhaled deeply. "And now you've come for me."

"…not necessarily."

"Ah." Dr. Light nodded again, putting away his handkerchief. "You want the boy."

Samus said nothing.

"…would you like something to drink?"

She blinked. "Sure."

Dr. Light spoke into his wrist. "Roll, please fetch us a strawberry lemonade and a…"

"Water's fine, thanks."

"A water. We have… guests." He looked at Samus, smiling slightly. "Though I'm retired now, I still keep a few of the old robots around the house for various purposes. None of _those_, though… just for the housekeeping, security, things like that. In case you haven't noticed, I'm rather getting on in years."

Samus said nothing. A few moments later, there was a creaking on the stairs and what appeared to be a young girl was bringing down a tray with drinks. She smiled warmly at Samus and laid the tray on the nearest table to her.

"Thank you," Samus muttered, taking the water and drinking heavily.

"I'm rather surprised," Dr. Light said, "that you trust me enough to drink my water."

Samus smiled. "Oh, Doctor… you're not _that_ stupid."

"Too true," he said, taking a sip of his lemonade as Roll left them in silence. "Now, down to business. You want to destroy my son."

Samus said nothing. Dr. Light sighed.

"I always knew it would come to this. You see, he isn't here, and I don't know where he is."

Samus shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not good enough, Doctor."

"It is, sadly, all I can give you. Well, sadly is perhaps not the operative word… 'regretfully' might be more apt. You see, Mega Man was taken from me shortly after… that whole unpleasant business."

Samus arched an eyebrow. "Taken?"

"Indeed. I had placed him into storage, but they came to my laboratory and forcefully stole him, claiming he was to serve a new master. I have not seen him since."

"Who took him?"

For the first time since Samus had arrived, Dr. Light looked fearful.

"…I cannot say."

"You're just a mountain of help, aren't you?" Samus whispered dangerously.

"You don't understand, Samus. Things have changed in four years. Most of the old crew is retired, and in their absence new ones have sprung up, and while they don't have the skill the Nine used to have, they make up for it with ruthlessness. They've been doing your job for you –" here Dr. Light's voice cracked slightly – "and they've taken over most of the criminal underworld."

Samus paused. "So what's _he_ been doing about it?"

"The same thing he always did. Lie low and wait for the tides to change. That's why they call him Snake, I suppose –"

"That's not why," Samus said irritably. "Anyway, you have an obligation to help me to the best of your ability."

"I don't fear death, my dear," Dr. Light said.

"I said nothing about killing you. Your obligation stems from the fact that for the majority of your life, you've produced some of the deadliest weapons known to man, and you didn't have the courage to destroy the deadliest of them all – and because of that, he's still out there somewhere. Doesn't that weigh on your conscience at all?"

Dr. Light stared, all traces of the joviality gone from his face. "You've no right to lecture me about conscience. I have atoned for my actions in ways you cannot possibly imagine. Now, unless you're going to tell me that you intend to have peaceful chats with every member of the Nine…"

"What I do to them," Samus said coldly, "is none of your business. Unless you wish to make it so?"

Dr. Light sighed. "There are two reasons I can't tell you. One should be obvious: he's my son and I won't let you harm him."

"You have an obligation –"

"Two," he said, cutting her off, "the ones that took him are watching us right now."

Samus started. "What?"

Dr. Light smiled sadly. "They arrived just before you did. It seemed they knew you'd be coming… I'm sorry, Samus."

She grabbed the Master Sword, but before she could brandish it a hand had reached out from behind, grabbing her roughly around the neck. She gasped, kicking back at her attacker, but his grip was too strong, and he had jabbed something into her arm – and within seconds she was lying limp on the cold basement floor. She could hear Dr. Light speaking, as if from miles away, and soon she fell into nothingness.


	4. What a Warrior Never Does

**4. What a Warrior Never Does**

"_Come on, Samus!"_

_I shot him a dirty glare: he knows we're not supposed to use real names on the job. "Whatever you say, ROCK." Extra emphasis on the nickname._

_He didn't seem to notice. He just continued to walk up the path, looking for all intents and purposes like a normal ten-year-old boy. Abruptly he put up his hand._

"_Did you hear something?"_

_He shook his head._

"_Then what -"_

"_Samus, do you ever wonder -"_

"_Now is NOT the time, Rock. Just keep walking."_

_He had been waxing philosophical for a month now, and always at the most inopportune moments – in the middle of missions, at the beginning of debriefings. I knew he was designed to be a "thinking machine," but I needed him to _react_ now, not think._

_We marched a little further up the dirt path through the forest. It became narrower and narrower, spreading itself thin over fallen leaves and uprooted trees. The quiet air was ominous – the forest was supposed to house multiple species, yet none of them were seemingly present. Even Mega Man had noticed, his footsteps becoming softer, his pace becoming slower. We raised our arm cannons instinctively._

_Then I fell over, my eyesight fading In and out like a blinking television set. The suit's diagnostics were fine, so what the hell was going on?_

"_Samus!" Mega Man yelled, but I found the strength to shove him away – I didn't want whatever had just attacked me to go for him. The little robot spun around, and I looked up, my vision slowly clearing._

_Before us was a small child, a boy in a baseball cap, his striped shirt and shorts torn in many places. He had a wild, uncivilized look about him, and there were patches of dirt all over his body._

_Mega Man hesitated. "This is the target?"_

"_Do your damn job -" I started, then doubled over as the full force of a battering ram hit my ribs. All the wind knocked out of me; I tried to cough "He's a psychic!" but all that came out was a bunch of blood._

_What happened next I couldn't see, though I could hear perfectly well. There were sounds of a skirmish, the noise of a baseball bat hitting metal, and then the unmistakable charge of an arm cannon. Then a long pause as the arm cannon charged._

_Then I heard something that stunned me even worse than all the psychic blows I'd taken._

"_I'm sorry," Mega Man said.

* * *

_

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey."

She blinked. The world was still halfheartedly coming into focus.

"Looks like the Hunter has become the Hunted."

"Dude, I knew you were going to say that! So lame."

Samus could make out a few shapes that were moving off in the distance. One was coming progressively closer, and she could soon make out shaggy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a curious smirk.

"So that's her, huh? Doesn't seem so tough."

"Step _away_ from her."

"What's she gonna do?" the blonde guy asked, stepping back. "She's tied up!"

The other voice sighed. Samus could now see her form more clearly, a curvy woman with brown hair. At her side, clearly visible, was a pistol.

"I have _told_ you," she spoke, more than a trace of irritation in her accented tone, "not to judge on appearances. Take it from me: this one is as deadly as they come."

The man, who looked rather young, possibly In his teens, shrugged. "I guess... if half those stories are true, anyway."

"You saw the suit. And you know we can't remove that blasted sword from her back -"

"Where's Mega Man?" Samus interrupted.

At this, the woman smiled.

"Straight to the point, aren't you? I knew you'd be like that. Did you know I've always wished to meet you, Hunter?"

"I have no time," Samus said coldly, "to waste with nonsense. Let me go now and I promise I'll only cut off a few of your limbs."

The man – no, the _boy_ – laughed, but the woman frowned.

"Shut up, Tidus," she snapped, and the boy stopped laughing instantly. "You're wrong, Hunter: you have just as much time as we say you do. You're defenseless, bound by unfamiliar faces and forces. You'd do well to be a bit more considerate."

"You say you've heard of my reputation," Samus said. "If that's the case, _you'd_ do well to let me go now... before I start getting angry."

The woman nodded. "I have some questions for you first, Hunter. Answer them and we'll give you your little robot boy. Be warned, though: you may not like what you find."

Samus stared hard at the woman, who returned her gaze with an icy silence.

"First off... where is Solid Snake?"

At this unexpected question, Samus laughed. "You must be even dumber than you look," she said. "When the master doesn't want to be found, there's no finding him."

"But you could." It was not a question.

"There's a reason," Samus replied, "that even I took orders from Solid Snake. And if you don't know that simple fact... why was Dr. Light afraid of you again?"

Samus was trying to goad the woman into a temper, to betray some sign of weakness. To her credit, the woman remained cool, her beautiful face showing no signs of annoyance or anger.

"Maybe you'll answer my first question after I ask the second: where have you been these last four years?"

This was not a question Samus had anticipated, and for a second her confusion showed upon her face. But she quickly masked it.

"You assume I've been gone all this time," she said, assuming a tone of mock indifference.

"Of course I do," the woman said silkily. "Why else would you have let the Noble Nine disband? Why else would you have let other rival groups come to the forefront? It's not in your personality to just disappear like that, Hunter."

Samus said nothing, instead letting the information wash over her. It was true, she reflected ruefully, that she had no idea what had happened in these past four years. She had not made much of an effort to find out. All she could do was make educated guesses, which had led her to Link in Hyrule and Dr. Light's quiet suburban home. Now, however, she was venturing into unfamiliar territory, a world that had been without her for four years and which had changed accordingly.

"I take it," the woman said, "that your silence means you didn't know all this."

Samus scowled. "What I do and do not know are not your concern."

"You're wrong," the woman said. "Very wrong. Do you know what the aim of this organization is, Hunter? Do you know why we've left you alive?"

Tidus began to fake-snore loudly. The woman snapped her head to him in anger.

"Come on, Lara," he moaned. "Let's get down to the good stuff."

"Fine," Lara said irritably. "Hunter, I have a proposition for you. Help us find Solid Snake, and we will help you track down and kill the remaining members of the Noble Nine."

Samus hesitated. "You want to kill Snake?"

"Of course!" Lara said. "Who _doesn't_ want to kill him?"

"I don't," said a voice from behind Samus. The Hunter tried to turn around to see the new speaker, but couldn't maneuver properly due to her restraints. She settled for watching Lara, whose normally impassive face flashed with a flicker of surprise and... was it... fear?

"Get back in there," Lara sputtered.

"I want to see her," the voice said. Samus felt a hint of recognition at the male voice, but couldn't place it just yet.

Tidus was looking at Lara with a expression of uncertainty. The woman, for the first time since Samus had awoken, rested her hand on her gun.

"I said 'get back in there,'" Lara repeated. "You'll see her soon enough."

Samus could sense that the figure wasn't moving. Finally, the voice issued a command:

"Let her go."

At this, Tidus laughed. "You're issuing us orders? _Us?_ Boy, that reprogramming must have messed with your head more than I thought!"

"Shut up," Lara hissed. "Anyway," she said, addressing the voice, "you're In no position to make demands of anyone any longer. So wait in the next room until we're done, alright?"

"I just want to see her," the voice repeated sadly. "That's all."

Lara sighed. "Fine. But make it quick."

The figure walked over and appeared in Samus's line of sight. Though he looked cosmetically different in many aspects and his voice was somewhat deeper, there was no mistaking the distinctive blue armor, helmet, and arm cannon. Alarm klaxons began to blaze in Samus's head.

"Hi, Samus," Mega Man said sadly.

* * *

_We walked back from the forest quietly, Mega Man carrying the boy's body, me still recovering from his psychic onslaught. Finally, the robot spoke._

"_Samus -"_

"_Whatever you're going to say," I replied, "is not worth it."_

"_I just wanted you to know... I'm sor-"_

_Abruptly I spun around, lifting Mega Man off his feet with one well-placed grappling hook (which was no easy task); the corpse of our target fell unceremoniously onto the forest floor._

"_Warriors never apologize," I spat. "Especially not to their victims. Do you understand me?"_

_Mega Man's face showed surprise and sadness, and I mentally cursed Dr. Light for making his robot "son" so lifelike._

"_He was just a kid," Mega Man said. "Just a little boy."_

"_He would have killed me," I said._

"_You don't know that. He was just defending himself -"_

_I drew Mega Man's face close to my helmet. "If you show mercy, you show weakness. Is that clear?"_

_Mega Man sighed, looking away from me. Slowly, he nodded. I lowered the robot down to the ground, and we continued on our way in silence._


	5. Father and Son

**5. Father and Son**

"You look good," Mega Man said in his new, strangely lower-pitched voice. "For a dead lady."

Samus simply stared daggers at the little robot, taking in his changes. It looked as if, impossibly, Mega Man had gone through puberty; his armor seemed bulkier in places, his blue tint a darker shade. He was still the same short height, however.

"You've seen her," Lara snapped. "Now get back in the other room."

Still facing Samus, Mega Man replied coolly, "I want to talk with her."

"No! That wasn't part of the plan!"

"Just give me two minutes. That's all. I promise."

Lara sighed, still keeping her hand on her pistol with an air of mock casualness. "Fine. Come on, Tidus."

The two left the room, Tidus eying the robot suspiciously as they did so. Once they were gone, Mega Man lowered his voice.

"I'm going to let you go," he said softly.

"I don't need – or want – your charity," Samus spat, but Mega Man raised his hand.

"I'm not doing this out of love for you, believe me. But trust me when I say that I'm the closest thing to an ally you have right now -"

"You're no ally of mine!"

"Keep your voice down," Mega Man shushed. "I'm letting you go and you can't stop me."

The robot moved behind Samus and, with a swift motion, undid her bonds. She stretched out her hands, then stood up.

"Get going," Mega Man said, but Samus shook her head.

"Oh no, little robot. You and I have unfinished business and you getting a case of the charities isn't going to change that."

To Samus's surprise – and irritation – Mega Man smiled.

"I'll be waiting for you... Hunter." With that, he sprinted out of the room, leaving Samus alone.

The door behind Samus opened and Lara called, "Two minutes is up -"

Samus moved in a flash, pulling out the Master Sword and grabbing Lara in a painful hold by her right arm, pivoting the woman around and holding Link's former blade at her throat.

"Whoa!" Tidus yelled, pulling out his own sword, but Lara gagged out a "Stop!" and the young man froze, looking uncertainly at the both of them.

"A wise move, Lara," Samus said. "A woman in your position can't afford to make any mistakes. Now... _I've _got some questions for _you. _Since your vocal chords are probably a bit constricted at the moment, feel free to nod 'yes' or 'no.'"

"Y-You should let her go," Tidus stammered. Samus ignored him.

"First things first: why do you want to kill the Noble Nine?"

"Are you serious?" Lara sputtered, ignoring the stabbing pains that were assuredly flowing through her arm. "I'd have thought Dr. Light told you already: we are the future of the world, and Snake is obsolete."

Samus nodded. "But I guess he's not 'obsolete' enough for you to not want to kill him, eh?"

"He's the last piece of the puzzle," Lara said. "Once he goes down, the rest of the criminal syndicates will fall into place. You should know that the hold Snake kept on them before was tenuous at best."

"You're wrong," Samus said. "The other syndicates were too cowardly to move into the open. Snake had a monopoly, sure, but he _earned_ it... unlike you and your little organization. Dr. Light implied that what you lack in skill you make up for with lots of killing. Isn't that right? Because that's _not_ -" Samus's grip tightened and Lara let out a little gasp - "the way of the warrior."

"Y-Your ways are dying out, Hunter, if not already dead. We can't afford chivalry in this day and age -"

"That will do. Second question: what did you do to Mega Man?"

"We took him from the doctor. We made him better, stronger. His name is 'X' now, and he's the greatest weapon we had... or at least, he _was_. He's always been close to turning on us at every opportunity."

"And you never stopped him because you were scared of him, right? Because you're all cowards. Alright, I've gotten my answers. Time for some punishment."

"Wait!" Lara yelled. "I can give you information about our organization. You need to know what you're up against!"

"Oh, sweetie," Samus said, "I'm up against the whole world. Always have been, always will be."

Then she cut off Lara's left arm with one slash of the Master Sword.

Tidus jumped into the fray as Lara dropped to the floor, howling in pain; their blades clashed back and forth as Tidus swung from all angles, obviously trying to tire Samus out. But the Hunter was used to this sort of thing from inexperienced swordsmen, and she quickly plowed through his defenses, knocking the sword from his grasp.

"Take her," Samus said, "and go. Tell your little friends all about me, and what will happen to them if they try the same shit you just pulled. Oh, and leave her arm. I'll add it to my collection."

Tidus didn't need to be told twice: he grabbed the screaming Lara and dashed from the room, her cries of pain echoing in the hallway until they faded from Samus's ears.

She breathed deep and took stock of the room they were in: it appeared to be a kids' room, with posters all over the walls of various comic book heroes and video games. Scooping up Tidus's sword, she walked outside and saw to her disgust a group of dead bodies: a family. She looked out the window of the bedroom and saw that her suspicions were correct: she was still on Dr. Light's street.

As she left the house, a flash of orange in the corner drew her eye: _her suit._

She inspected it carefully. It seemed in working order, and she donned it, all pretenses of secrecy abandoned: Mega Man had obviously wanted her to take it... did the robot have a death wish? First he had helped her escape, now he gave her back her great weapon... something wasn't adding up, but she wasn't about to question the circumstances.

Feeling right at home in the contours of the power suit, she dashed across the street and saw her car still sitting there, its windows busted; she threw Tidus's sword in the backseat and moved to the now-familiar suburban home, intending to bust the door down – only to find that someone had beaten her to it. She slowly entered, scanning the immaculate living room for any signs of hostility, using her infrared visor to peer through the walls. There was a warm body in the basement, and she moved down there yet again.

What she saw stunned her: Mega Man stood in the center of the room, Roll lying on the floor, either dead or deactivated. The tables had all been moved off to the side, leaving a circle In which the robot stood. Behind them both sat Dr. Light, most of his face and body burned away.

"About time," Mega Man muttered.

Slowly Samus walked over to the robot, her arm cannon raised. Mega Man made no attempts to defend himself.

"I always hated him, you know," he said quietly. "For doing this to me. For doing this to the world. I never wanted to fight people... I never wanted to kill. It's against the laws of robotics, you know, to kill humans, but he felt like rules were above him. I just wanted to see him again... to finish the job I should have done years ago. But I was too scared to face him...

"Then they came. They call themselves the Mercenaries, y'know, and they think they're the next in line after the Nine. They're completely heartless and they just kill for fun... not like we used to do. At least we always killed for a reason. They tried to reprogram me but all they did was make me stronger; they couldn't make mindless like they wanted to. I guess... I guess my... my dad... was too good of a creator for them..."

"He wasn't your father," Samus said. "He was your creator. There's a difference."

"Not to a robot, there isn't. Family's important, Samus... even if you hate them with every circuit in your body, they're still important."

He turned to face Samus, staring at her closed helmet so sadly that Samus felt, despite herself, a rising lump of pity in her throat.

"Let's end this," he said, raising his arm cannon.

The two began to circle each other. Finally, Samus made the first move, firing a barrage of missiles. Mega Man responded by firing little shots out of his arm cannon, which exploded the missiles in midair; Samus, fully expecting this, ducked around the explosions and let loose a volley from her ice beam. The robot shot a flamethrower-like projection from his arm, melting the ice on contact.

Samus jumped into the air and ducked into the suit's morph ball mode, letting loose a spray of tiny bombs; Mega Man dodged them all and, to Samus's surprise, shot out a giant fist from his arm cannon, which connected solidly with her head. The suit's diagnostics flashed in alarm, but the helmet absorbed most of the blow.

The robot, clearly spurred on by this action, shot out what appeared to be a barrier of sorts, with little leaves floating around him. Samus knew this trick, and also knew that he couldn't attack while doing it, but Mega Man instead dashed at her, the leaves spiraling in a rotating circle; Samus dodged, but a stray leaf hit her leg, zapping her with a jolt of pain. As the leaves dissipated, Mega Man produced a blade from his arm and slashed backwards at Samus, sending back a wave of energy which Samus barely managed to jump over; she landed next to the robot and entered her screw attack mode, sending both of them flying across the room and breaking one of the tables upon landing.

Samus recovered first, shooting superheated plasma at Mega Man, but the robot ducked the shot and the table behind him got set ablaze instead. Slowly Mega Man began to charge a shot, which gave Samus an opportunity to run towards him; as he fired, she slid underneath, grappled onto his leg, and threw the robot across the room, smashing another two tables in the process. The Hunter charged her own arm cannon, sending out a large plasma ball in Mega Man's direction; she could hear the shot connect and saw Mega Man hit the wall with a loud cracking noise.

She dashed over, wading through the splintered wood – and suddenly, her suit went ballistic, the readings fading to static; pain coursed through her body like it was on fire. She couldn't see anything but knew what had happened -

"Elec Beam," Mega Man said. "They wanted to get rid of it, but I told them to keep it... maybe I always knew you'd be coming back."

With Samus blind, she could only use her other senses; she didn't dare remove the helmet, and she was glad she didn't a split-second later as the whirring sound of large metal blades flew past her face. As the suit clicked back on, Samus narrowly ducked another large fist and some more blades; she curved into the morph ball and laid a larger bomb at Mega Man's feet; he jumped over it, but this bomb had a much larger exploding radius and sent the robot flying onto the fiery table.

The sound of sizzling metal filled the room. Samus ran over to the fallen machine, preparing a final screw attack, when she saw that one of Mega Man's legs had fallen off, shooting off futile bursts of electricity everywhere. The robot was staring at it, a perplexed expression on his face. She began to charge her arm cannon instead, savoring the moments and cursing the doctor for not making his son able to feel pain.

"I guess this is goodbye, huh, Samus?" Mega Man sighed. "I just want you to know..."

They stood there for a long time, Samus holding the fully-charged shot and Mega Man leaking oil everywhere, spreading the flames rapidly. Finally, he spoke.

"...good luck."

She fired.

* * *

The news report stated that an elderly man's home had been found burned to the ground that night. Two additional bodies were with him; police stated that they were young, possibly children, but refused to comment even on that.

The man in the sunglasses sighed. She'd found two of them, but the others would prove more difficult for her... though he didn't doubt she'd get to them all, in the end. They didn't call her the Hunter for nothing.

Of course, that didn't mean they wouldn't be ready for her.

He picked up his small codec and dialed the frequency.

"Talk to me, Cloud," said a gruff voice.

"Snake." The man in the sunglasses spoke quietly, but reverently. "We have a problem."


	6. Postcards from Angel Island

**6. Postcards from Angel Island**

The Casino Night Zone was unusually packed for a Thursday night. Throngs of individuals, all of them anthropomorphic, huddled about the pool tables and slot machines, hoping to make some quick money or to simply enjoy the sights and sounds of Angel Island's only major city. A small crowd had gathered around a roulette wheel as a blue hedgehog was yelling animatedly.

"Come on, lucky number seven! Papa needs a new pair of speed shoes! Come on come on come ON!"

The dealer spun the wheel, and all the pairs of eyes watched as it spun and landed on -

"Twenty-two."

The hedgehog's face fell as jeers and laughter issued from the crowd. He slammed his hand on the table.

"Hey, what gives, buddy? That's the third miss you've rolled tonight!"

The dealer shrugged. "Sorry, pal... better luck next time."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it as a nearby pink hedgehog whispered into his ear. Scowling at the dealer, he turned away and left the casino in a huff.

"Sonic! Sweetie, wait!"

The blue hedgehog spun around, an angry expression on his face.

"Let's _go_, Amy," he said loudly. "No point in staying where we're not wanted."

The pink hedgehog sighed and followed Sonic into the cool night air of Angel Island. As they headed down the bustling city street, Sonic raised a hand.

"Sonic, what -"

"Shh!" He glanced around the dark alleyways to the sides, his eyes narrowing in concentration. After a few moments of searching, Amy quietly approached him.

"Sweetie, it's just your imagination." She petted his spikes, taking in the strong scent of whiskey that surrounded his fur. Gradually, Sonic calmed down, and the two resumed their journey down the road, into a less developed section of the island: the Emerald Hill Zone, where the large metropolis of Casino Night was replaced with decaying buildings jutting out from darkened, brown hills.

"Let's go to sleep," Amy cooed as they crossed the door into their apartment, nestled in a valley between two large mountains. "It's been a busy day for you."

"Yeah, yeah... bastard cheated me, y'know..."

"I know, sweetie..."

Sonic rubbed his eyes and settled down into bed, leaving the day's events behind him.

* * *

Once a week a transport ship traveled from Angel Island to the mainland, ferrying supplies and providing the anthropomorphic animals who resided there their only regular contact with the outside world. The ship would head to the nearby town of Station Square, where merchants would barter goods and the occasional animal would venture forth into the rest of the world.

It did not, Samus reflected as she stood on the bay of the encroaching ship, paint a pretty picture for human-animal relations that the only major animal habitat in the world was on a remote island accessible only by one ship a week.

"We don't get your kind around here very often at all, no sirree," the captain, a human-sized turtle, had said when Samus had paid her fee and climbed aboard. "Matter of fact, I'd say you're the second human in a year to come to Angel Island. What business you got here, anyway?"

"Unfinished," Samus had said.

Her suit compressed into morph ball form and stowed safely in her pocket,she closed her eyes and let the cool sea breeze wash over her face. The water was truly beautiful at night, the reflection of the rising moon visible in the rippling waves. How long would it be until these waters too were filled with blood in her quest for the insatiable? How many innocent lives would be spilled on its rocky shores to give her satisfaction?

"We're here," said the captain as the ship slowed to a halt.

* * *

Amy Rose watched the love of her life toss and turn in his sleep. Sonic never slept well, and though he never shared his dreams with her, she knew the simple truth that the man she was devoted to was, well, sick in the head. She hated herself for even thinking it, but it was true: Sonic's idea of medication was heavy drinking and his notion of therapy was yelling at passing teenagers.

She stared sadly at his fitful form, wishing as always that there was something she could do to help him. She retreated into her room – Sonic rarely liked to share a bed – and stared up at the ceiling. The blue hedgehog had disappeared almost ten years ago without any explanation, and then, seven years later, he'd resurfaced, penniless and broken. Amy had never asked what he'd done during that time; she knew he'd tell her when he was ready.

_My poor sweetie... he needs help. He needs me._

Running a finger around the bruise under her left eye, she sat up, struck by a sudden notion: she'd run down to the nearest gas station and pick him up some chili dog mix. That would always perk him up! What a nice surprise it would be tomorrow morning: breakfast in bed with his favorite food. Amy smiled as she left the house, thinking of what a good girlfriend she was.

* * *

Fully aware that she stuck out like a sore thumb, Samus walked purposefully around the busy streets of Casino Night: if Sonic was anything like he was four years ago, he'd likely either be here or be leaving from here, probably drunk or stoned out of his mind, running along the tables and hitting on all the available – and unavailable – women.

She approached the nearby bar.

"Hello there," she said in her sweetest voice. "I'm looking for a blue hedgehog. Seen him around lately?"

The bartender arched an eyebrow. "You're a human."

Samus looked down at herself in mock surprise. "So I am! Have you seen him?"

"...that hedgehog's nothin' but trouble. _Your kind_ is nothin' but trouble."

She had fully expected this, and produced a gold piece from her pocket, placing it carefully on the bar.

"Trouble comes in all forms, but I'm sure this isn't one of them," she cooed. "Now, about that hedgehog..."

* * *

It was the same dream. Every night.

He was standing in a dark corridor, surrounded by a hundred fat men in overalls. They were all laughing in a high-pitched voice, the sounds echoing off the empty walls. There was broken glass all over the floor and blood dripping from the ceiling. Strange devices ricocheted up around the corner: shells, feathers, boxes.

He tried to run, even walk, but was completely frozen, rooted to the ground. He could only watch as the fat men came up to him and began to beat him with clubs, hammers, mallets... anything they could get their pudgy hands on, laughing all the while. And he was totally powerless to stop them.

It happened every night. He couldn't turn it off, no matter how hard he tried.

But this night... something different happened. As the fat men approached, there was a figure, draped in shadows, standing before him – was this who he had seen in the alleys? The figure brandished a sword and began to taunt him – and, amazingly, _Sonic moved toward him._ He stepped over the glass, over the fat men, and approached the figure in shadows.

"Atone," the figure said. "Or we'll atone for you."

Then his sword cut through Sonic's neck like the wind cutting through leaves.

The blue hedgehog awoke with a start, his sheets covered in sweat. The dream had been different... why had the dream been different?

"Amy!" he called. There was no response.

Swearing and muttering under his breath about how useless his "girlfriend" was, he wiped his forehead and checked the clock. It wasn't even midnight yet, so she couldn't be asleep... he just needed to let off some steam, that's all...

Sonic fumbled around for the lamp, pondering the words of the mystery figure in his dream. Maybe he just needed some fresh air.

He fell into his wheelchair and moved himself out into the night.

* * *

She was keeping to the backroads, the unbeaten paths – lots of young animals were still out and about, and to be seen now would prove most suspicious... but Samus was on the trail, and when the Hunter moved, not even the world itself could stand in her way.

Samus had changed into the power suit, scanning her visors for anything out of the ordinary as she approached the Emerald Hill Zone. She knew how blisteringly fast Sonic could be and reminded herself to be prepared for anything.

What she wasn't prepared for, however, was a sudden surge of lightning that disrupted the suit's functions.

Samus staggered, attempting to clear her visor when a sword attempted to penetrate her arm. As she switched to infrared, she could see the familiar outline of a human with spiky hair...

"Crono?"


	7. Plain and Simple

**7. Plain and Simple**

"_Man, Sammie... if you weren't a human, I'd bone you in a heartbeat."_

"_Show the lady some respect, Sonic. She didn't get here just by being pretty."_

"_Whatever, elf-boy. You'd know a lot about being pretty, wouldn't ya?"_

"_And what's that supposed to mean? Any time you want to throw down, hedgehog, just name the time and place -"_

"_Pffffft. You couldn't handle me, Linky. I'm like the wind – everywhere and nowhere. Pretty deep, huh?"_

"_You weren't so 'deep' when the kid was sparring with you yesterday."_

"_Who, Crono? He's nothing. Just some freaky teenage punk with lightning powers."_

"_Oh, hi Crono!"_

_Sonic spun around so fast that he knocked his drink off the table. Link laughed, slapping his knees as Sonic flushed._

"_That wasn't funny, ya asshole."_

"_Sure thing, tough guy."_

_Bravado and testosterone flowed as freely around here as Sonic's alcohol spilling onto the floor. What they all knew was that talk was nothing if you couldn't prove yourself where it counted – and if you were part of the Noble Nine, you certainly could. Every one of the Nine was hand-picked by Snake himself, and he wasn't afraid to make some... controversial choices. One woman against eight men isn't a coincidence, nor is one animal against seven humans and a robot._

_This was the fabled Shadow Moses Island, secret base of the Noble Nine. Unplottable and untargetable by anyone not in the know, sought after by both admirers and enemies. I'd always felt that having one base in our line of work was dangerous and that we should have moved from place to place, keeping everyone on their toes... but Snake assured me that Shadow Moses was secure. Plus I think the island, with its chilly climates and cavernous main building, held some sentimental value for him, though he never told me what._

_There were many rumors about Shadow Moses, each of them more fantastical than the last. Some people said it was magically bewitched to change layouts every time someone entered it; some theorized that it had a nuclear weapons stockpile buried underneath. Only Snake knew all of Shadow Moses's secrets, and the rest of the Nine were privileged if he deemed it necessary to share any with them._

_One thing that everyone knew about the island was that it was cold. Perched in the northernmost part of the planet, Shadow Moses only seemed to have two indigenous species: polar bears and husky dogs. Snake was particularly fond of the latter, and he bred them secretly, enjoying the simple pleasures of a sled race in between missions. The polar bears never bothered us; they, like everyone else on the island, seemed to respect Snake too much._

_The only one of the Nine that ever dared to speak openly against Snake was, of course, Sonic. Sonic and his fat mouth, always rattling off reasons why he could take anyone else in a fight based solely on his speed; Sonic and his insatiable desire to prove himself to a world that hated his kind. Snake put up with Link because of the Master Sword, and he put up with Mega Man's philosophical ramblings because the robot was flat-out strong. But why he put up with Sonic, that's a mystery even to me._

_Speed isn't everything – it's how you use it that counts. Sonic was by far the fastest among us, maybe even, as he liked to boast, in the world, but he could still lose to any of the others on a good day. The hedgehog was just too overconfident, too assured of his ability to win before the fight even began that he was blinded to the skills of others._

_That was true before this mission, at least._

_Link and Sonic worked well together – they had a natural playfulness to their work that none of the others seemed to share, a certain, almost innocent joy in the kill. Snake asked me to tag along to provide extra muscle, which made me suspicious from the start: when the situation called for _three_ of us, the targets were bound to be deadly._

_But as we approached the destination, the reason for my inclusion suddenly became clear._

"_...waaaaait a minute," Sonic piped up. "This is -"_

"_Angel Island," Link said._

_Of course. The target was anthropomorphic, and Snake was worried that Sonic wouldn't have the nerve to go through with it._

"_No way," Sonic said. "No way. No way there's an animal who needs to be killed."_

"_Judging by the briefing," I said, "there is."_

"_No way. No way! Not gonna happen."_

"_Are you serious, Sonic?" Link asked. "You can't just cop out on the mission because of the target's species."_

"_Who says I can't?" Sonic protested. "We always go after humans. Plain and simple. I didn't sign up to hunt down animals!"_

"_No," I said, leaning in a tad, "you signed up to hunt down the unworthy and the unjust, regardless of race, gender, or age. 'Plain and simple.'"_

"_Yeah, but -"_

"_We're here."_

_Back then transport to Angel Island wasn't restricted, and though most naturally stayed away from it, it was still possible to fly overhead and land freely, as we were doing. By the time we reached our target, nestled deep in a field of giant mushrooms, Sonic was chatting away madly, rambling about mutiny and how soon he wouldn't need us any more. I put a finger to my helmet in warning, then approached the small house nestled in between two of the larger mushrooms._

_Link knocked on the door. There was a rustling from inside, and a red snout poked out from behind the door._

"_Who is it?" he barked._

"_Are you Knuckles the Echidna?" Link asked._

"_Who wants to know, human?" the figure replied._

"_Just passing by," Link said. "Can we come in?"_

"_You've got to be -"_

_There was a burst of blue movement next to me and Sonic had busted through the door, bowling Knuckles over in the process. Swearing, I dashed forward, charging a beam; Link followed, pulling out the Master Sword._

_But Knuckles had already sprung into action, and he grabbed what appeared to be a carrier pigeon, setting it free through the open window. He turned to us, a triumphant look on his face._

"_They'll be here soon," he said. "You can kill me, but you can't kill all of them."_

"_Dude," Sonic said, "nobody's gonna kill you -"_

_I fired, not at Knuckles, but at Sonic. The ice beam froze the hedgehog's feet into place on the wooden floor. He stared up at me, an expression of hurt and anger on his face._

_Then all the animals came running.

* * *

_

Samus's main visor cleared up just in time for her to dodge another arc of lightning. She ducked beneath the beam and fired a superheated blast as the familiar alarm bells sounded in her head. Predictably, Crono blocked the shot with his sword, smiling almost perversely as he did so.

She was already prepping another attack, this time an ice beam, but Crono was too used to her techniques, and instead of blocking with his sword he met the beam with a lightning bolt, shooting through the blast and nailing Samus squarely in the chest.

Though the power suit had no intrinsic vulnerabilities, lightning had always temporarily disrupted its functioning, a small weakness which only the Nine knew of. Samus fell backwards, a searing pain coursing through her body. Crono's sword, the Rainbow, curved downward, attempting to penetrate her chest where the lightning had struck. She let the blast strike her, confident that it wouldn't breach the suit's defenses, and curved into morph ball form.

Crono cupped his hands together and jumped into the air, shooting arcs of lightning every which way. Samus rolled between the attacks, dropping little bombs as she went, hoping that one would hit or at least distract the kid.

He landed next to her, the Rainbow in his hand and a mad grin on his face. He was readying it – the attack Samus knew would inevitably come, and for which she had no real counter to.

"Stop! Stop fighting!"

A girl was running up the dirt path, waving her hands frantically. Crono took one look at her and shot a bolt of lightning at her face.

The girl screamed in agony, and Samus took the distraction to heart, firing a barrage of missiles at Crono; the kid, obviously unprepared, staggered back, and Samus shot an ice beam at his sword, freezing it to his hands. She dashed forward as Crono attempted to fire another lightning bolt, this time screw attacking him and sending him spiraling, landing with a crunch face first on the ground.

Samus hesitated, then ran over to the girl, still twitching and writhing on the ground. She was a pink hedgehog who looked to be in her mid-twenties, and she was very clearly in a world of pain. Samus pulled out a Tonic, one of the healing potions she had handy, and emptied it down the girl's throat. The Hunter then turned around to finish off Crono – but the kid was gone.

Swearing, she continued to see to the girl, who was slowly getting to her feet, her eyes wide with fright.

"You... you saved me..."

Samus nodded, aware of the bizarreness of the situation – any other creature would have seen the power suit and fled, yet this girl appeared to have no knowledge of Samus's reputation.

The girl brushed herself off, still shaking. She obviously had more questions, and Samus wasn't about to give her an opportunity to ask – she had a mission to fulfill, and if her paths crossed with Crono again, all the better for her and all the worse for him. The Hunter dashed off to cries of "Wait!", heading up the path where, she'd been told, Sonic the Hedgehog was waiting for her. Her mind filled with questions of her own – had Snake really been so foolish as to send Crono after him? How had he known where she'd strike next?

And, most importantly, when would they meet again?

* * *

_A veritable stampede thundered around us, breaking down the house, flattening the mushrooms and the surrounding foliage. I could barely make out what was going on in the carnage; Link screamed and I made myself airborne with a screw attack._

_Looking down from above, I could see that Knuckles had apparently summoned forth a hurricane of dingoes, their eyes berserk, their bodies circling the area where the house once stood. Knuckles was pummeling Link – and in the confusion, Sonic was nowhere to be seen._

_I dropped down below, firing volleys of plasma on my descent at Knuckles, who glided up at me, fists out and teeth bared. I connected squarely with a grappling hook to his jaw, then sent him flying back down to the ground. Immediately after that I landed on Knuckles's prone body and a loud snap told me that either I or one of the dingoes had broken his back. Next came the matter of the stampeding dingoes, which a few quick missiles and power bombs effectively neutralized._

_Link stood up, obviously shaken. He looked at the corpses all around him and asked, "Always got to do it with style, huh?"_

"_Where's Sonic?" I asked, not in the mood to joke. The air was heavy with blood and I wanted to make sure our speedy operative hadn't turned traitor._

"_Right here," said a voice to my left; Sonic had reappeared in a timely manner, staring at the fallen bodies with disgust._

"_Where were you?" I demanded._

"_Doesn't matter. Let's go."_

"_It matters plenty. If you can't be trusted to carry out a simple operation -"_

"_You really don't get it, do you? Do you have any idea who that WAS you just killed? Do you have any idea what that means for Angel Island?"_

"_I read the briefing, yes. He was Knuckles the Echidna, and he reneged on some old debts, and we were hired to kill him. Plain and simple."_

"_Wrong. He was Knuckles the Echidna, sure, but he was the guardian of Angel Island – the one who's supposed to protect it from outside forces. That's why those dingoes came running – every animal on the island is sworn to protect him. When word gets out that he's dead, do you know what that'll do to people? It'll be the dark ages all over again: animals getting slaughtered left and right. They'll have to close off Angel Island. And you... you just killed him without any thought to any of this, because Snake said so. You make me sick."_

_Sonic marched back up to the plane they'd taken to get here. Link stared at me hesitantly._

"_Samus...?"_

_I followed._


	8. Atonement

**8. Atonement**

The faint spring breeze felt nice on Sonic's fur as he wheeled down the path that led to a small 24-hour market. He grimaced as he approached the stands, reflecting bitterly that, just years ago, he would have given anything to have experienced the wind rustling through his spines... but now it only seemed to mock him.

Damn, he needed a drink.

"...hello, Sonic."

The hedgehog spun so fast in his chair that he toppled off, landing in a clump on the dirt path beneath the wheels. Stepping out from behind a tree was a disgustingly familiar spiky-haired human, a large sword strapped to his back.

"...Cloud? The HELL?"

Sonic spat sand and grime from his mouth and attempted to right himself back in his chair. Cloud extended a hand, but Sonic growled and smacked it away.

"I don't need your goddamn help, _human._"

"Yes, Sonic, you do. Because without my help, you're going to die."

"Nice," Sonic grunted, crawling back into the seat and pushing himself forward with his hands. "Still resorting to threats and shit like that. Old habits die hard, huh Cloudy boy?"

"It's not a threat. _She's_ not a threat. She's coming for you. For all of us."

Fully positioned back in the wheelchair, Sonic dusted off his gloves.

"How'd you get here, anyway? Unless you're just another bad dream..."

"We have ways of getting anywhere we need to, Sonic, ways that don't involve the general populace. Anyway: the Hunter is alive, and she is going to, at some point in the near future, attempt to kill you -"

"Whoa, wait a sec. Sammie? Alive? No way. Snake shot the shit out of her."

Cloud nodded. "And she's still alive. It's been four years, but she's back. She's gotten to some of the others already. I came to find you, to offer you protection."

Sonic spat on the ground and wheeled himself directly in front of Cloud. "Protection? _Protection?_ You goddamn son of a snake, don't you talk to me about protection! Where the hell were you when I needed you, huh? Where the hell were you when -"

"You rejected _us_, Sonic. If you don't let go of the past, then you won't have any kind of future."

"Like I give a shit about my future. Look at me. _Look at me!_ If she wants to throw down, it'll be a blessing and a half. I've got nothing left to live for anyway."

The two former associates looked at each other. Sonic sighed deeply.

"I'm in pain every day of my miserable life. Pain like you wouldn't imagine. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can barely look people in the eye. Everything I have is gone..."

"Don't let it end like this, Blue. You're better than this."

"That's what I'm tryin' to tell ya, Soldier: I'm not."

Without another word, Sonic turned himself around and headed back to his house. There were things that needed to be done.

* * *

The barman had described the house perfectly – a ramshackle hut sitting in between two hills. Samus turned on her infrared visor and saw one seated body in a far room. Nodding to herself, she dashed up the road and kicked down the door.

The house was a mess, with beer bottles strewn about the floor and a distinct smell of spoiled cheese lingering in the air. The body in the corner of the house stirred, but didn't get up – she had braced herself for an attack that never came. Steadying her arm cannon, she walked down the hallway and found her target laying across a bed, eyes closed.

The familiar alarm bells began to sound, but something wasn't right. Sonic wasn't getting up, and there was a ratty wheelchair next to the bed that looked like it had tracked dirt all across the house.

"Amy...?" Sonic gurgled.

"Not quite," Samus said.

Sonic opened his eyes. He looked at Samus, and a demented grin spread across his wasted face. This was not the Sonic the Hedgehog Samus had known: he had put on significant weight and looked as if he'd aged twenty years. His eyes held a deep, penetrating sorrow.

"Didn't expect ya so soon, Sammie," he said. "Figured you'd be here within the week, but now... that's even better..."

He slowly sat up, stretching his arms out.

"It's funny, what we used to do, ain't it? That day we killed the guardian, I learned some important things... things I kinda forgot over the years..."

His speech was slurred. The longer he spoke, the foggier his eyes became.

"...I got a lotta regrets, Sammie... had a dream just tonight, y'know... saw some dude who told me to repent for what I've done... 'atone,' he said... you ever done any atonin', Sammie? You ever stopped to... stopped to think that maybe what ya did was wrong?"

"What happened to your legs?" Samus asked.

"Funny thing... what we used to do..." Sonic continued; whether he chose to ignore her or simply couldn't hear her, Samus had no way of knowing. "But I... I wasn't gonna give you the satisfaction... of one more kill..."

A trickle of blood began to form at his mouth, and Samus suddenly understood. She raised her arm cannon and began to charge a shot.

"You won't deny me," she said coldly.

But Sonic had already reacted; with a final burst of speed he had moved his hand underneath the pillow and pulled out a small revolver. Samus reached out with her free hand to grab the gun, but Sonic snatched it away and placed it in his mouth, smiling.

"Cheers," he said, pulling the trigger.

Samus shut her eyes as the shot rang throughout the house. She lowered her arms and stared numbly at the spattered blood and brains across the wall. A sudden furious surge of blinking overcame her, and she felt the urge to look away.

And then she saw it: sitting on the dresser, a note addressed, in an untidy scrawl, to "Amy."

Checking the visor to make sure no one else was within earshot of the house, she picked up the letter.

_Amy,_

_By the time you read this, I'll be dead. No worries! I hated my life anyway._

_I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry. For how I treated you, I mean. You needed better than me, and hopefully someday you'll get what you deserve. I know I sure did._

_Don't feel so sad, Amy. Life kinda happens to everybody in a lot of different ways, and what happened to me could fill ten books, and none of them would be very inspiring. If I've learned anything, it's that you gotta atone for what you do... you gotta make sure to treat people right. Because, sooner or later, what you do's gonna catch up with you in the end. Remember that, okay?_

_Sonic_

She stared at the note for ten seconds, or maybe ten hours. By the time she broke free from it, she ran from the house, ran out into the spring air, and – for the first time in her life – ran from the crushing inevitability of her mission, the full weight of what she had left to accomplish, and the long and winding road it would lead her down.

* * *

"Progress report, agent."

The kid handed in a typed note, rubbing his recently healed nose. His superior looked at the paper, then returned his gaze back to the kid's face.

"It's not like you to fail, Crono. But I suppose that just indicates how truly dangerous the Hunter is."

The man paced back and forth, seemingly lost in thought; Crono knew better than to interrupt. Finally, he spoke, muttering mostly to himself.

"Agents Croft and Tidus have already met and lost to the Hunter... we correctly ascertained that she would attempt to reach that damn animal next... but even you were insufficient..."

Abruptly the man locked eyes with Crono.

"By this point, five of her targets remain. You are one of them: so long as you remain with us, she will not be able to harm you, and – eh?"

Crono shook his head vigorously.

"Hmm... you fear that she will be able to overcome all of the defenses and power of the Mercenaries to reach you? Perhaps that is true... but in any case, there are easier targets for her at the moment. How fortuitous for us that the Hunter has seen fit to perform the job we have been attempting to do for years! At any rate, you may go, agent. We will contact you next time you are needed."

Crono nodded, leaving the room. His superior had been correct about his thoughts that the Hunter would be able to overcome anything thrown at her... but he'd been wrong that this assumption made Crono afraid.

The kid licked his lips, mentally preparing himself for their next confrontation... it had indeed been too long since he'd had a worthy opponent...

Lightning, after all, always struck the highest point.


	9. The Lonely Grave of Mr L

**9. The Lonely Grave of Mr. L**

"_If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good, and the very gentle, and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too, but there will be no special hurry."_

_- Ernest Hemingway

* * *

_

"_One kills a man, one is an assassin; one kills millions, one is a conqueror; one kills everybody, one is a god."_

_- Jean Rostand

* * *

_

"_If you have to kill a snake, kill it once and for all."_

_- Japanese proverb

* * *

_

She overlooked the small valley that spread into oddly-shaped natural cones, low-rolling clouds, and houses that peppered the countryside. She could hear bells ringing and children laughing, even from this distance; like the other locations she'd cursed with her presence, this was a happy place, full of life.

_The Mushroom Kingdom._

Samus had no doubt now that the Mercenaries were watching her after she'd amputated one of their agents and destroyed their prize robot. The matter at hand was that she simply didn't care: she had a mission to accomplish, and she'd deal with the consequences of said mission along the way.

And yet... images of her past encounter continued to flood through her mind without prompting. Was all this carnage truly worth it? What kind of monster did it make her? Mega Man's innocent voice flashed across her brain, pleading for the defense of a young boy they'd been sworn to kill... but no, Mega Man was not innocent. Nobody truly was.

She walked down the path to the Kingdom. She had no illusions that her next target would be miraculously waiting for her there, but all she wanted were leads, and there was no better place to start than his former stomping ground.

After a few minutes of walking through the bustling streets, filled with small, mushroom-like people, she found her destination: a small cobblestone inn across from the school. She nodded to herself and walked in.

The interior was, mercifully, deserted save for a mushroom person with his back to the door, rummaging through some papers. A bell chimed as the door opened and Samus took stock of the building: homey, with wooden floors and nice-looking rugs placed carefully about. A staircase led to the upper floors in the corner.

"Oh, hello!" the mushroom person said merrily; he turned around and Samus could see that he was very old, with a bristling white mustache and a cane he was leaning on. "Just passing through?"

"You could say that," Samus said, smiling. "I was actually wondering if you could help me. I'm trying to locate a man."

The old mushroom person chuckled. "A man, eh? Well, that's none too specific, I dare say... we service all kinds of clientele, from the small to the... well, your size! The Mushroom Inn is very open to all travelers."

"This man... he probably hasn't been around here lately, which is why I was hoping you'd be able to point me in the right direction."

"Well, what's his name, dear?"

"You probably know him as Mario."

The old man slid off his cane and tumbled a few steps before regaining his footings. When he spoke again, his voice was devoid of all the geniality it had previously possessed.

"Who are you?" he barked. "What is your business here?"

"Your golden son has wronged me. I seek to make him pay for these wrongs."

"He... he's no son of mine! What gives you the right to come here and harass an old man?"

"Ah. So you must be Toadsworth, then."

The old man blinked, staring at the door as if hoping for someone to enter and save him from this situation.

"...I wish you'd leave. I really do. There are some things that should never be dredged up again... some things that should stay buried forever..."

"Some things never heal," Samus said, "and ignoring them only makes it worse. Tell me everything... please."

Toadsworth sighed. "Come upstairs. I'll tell you what you want to hear, but I can't see how it make anything better." He hobbled towards the staircase, reaching out to the guardrail, before pausing.

"You... you're one of them, aren't you?" he asked.

"...one of what?"

"_He_ looked at what he did as something... _holy. _Something that deserved praise and glory, yes he did... all he did was make people afraid and hurt them... and that's what you're here to do, yes it is..."

Samus said nothing. Toadsworth did not seem to expect a reply, continuing up the stairway as she followed him into a small bedroom. The old man locked the door behind them.

"We never used to have locks here... but times change, you know... well, sit down, sit down, and listen to this old man's tale of woe..."

Samus took a seat on the bed as Toadsworth hobbled over to the nearest chair, sighing deeply as he fastened himself down.

"He came to us as a young man, you know, he and his older brother Luigi. They were inseparable... said they'd lost their parents in an accident. Well, as it soon turned out, both of them were particularly adept at a number of things. He in particular was incredibly strong, skilled with mechanics, capable of building unique objects to enhance his own strength... numerous times they defended this very kingdom from external threats. They were heroes, through and through. It was said that one day he'd even marry the Princess herself."

"So what happened?" Samus asked. She knew all of this, of course, but to hear it from another perspective was always valuable, and there was also a chance that Toadsworth would tell her something new.

"I... I don't know. Whether that spark was always there and we'd just never noticed it, or whether he just snapped one day... who can truly say? I don't think any of us knew the real self, the real person behind the mask of heroics. Perhaps only his brother... but one day, the day it all began, Luigi disappeared. Strangely, he was not distraught in the slightest... claimed he was sure Luigi was in a better place... we made a makeshift grave for him and everything... looking back now, it all seems so sinister, but we all had blinders on for them. They were our champions and we loved them.

"It was impossible to fathom the depths to which he would soon sink. Rumors began to spread, rumors that reached even the castle steps. He disappeared for long stretches of time. Finally, the kingdom came under siege, and he was nowhere to be found... the princess was kidnapped... and then..."

Toadsworth's voice trailed off. Samus watched him intently.

"...when he arrived at the scene, he sped off to fight the monster who'd kidnapped her. No one truly knows what happened in the struggle. All we knew was that... the princess and the monster were both dead. Countless generations of mushroom nobility gone. And then he... he came back to the castle and... and -"

"He killed people," Samus said.

Toadsworth nodded. "Life is sacred among the mushroom people, we who use living objects all throughout our daily lives. To take another life is a dreadful sin. He had lived with these ideals for so long; to see them shattered in such a way was devastating. All the Mushroom Retainers, dead... I barely escaped with my own life. And that... that was the last time we saw him."

"So you don't know where he's gone, or where he might be?"

"That was years ago, my dear, when you were probably still a pup. He could be anywhere in the world by now. Or he could simply have ceased to be... I would not wish death upon anyone, but he certainly makes me willing to question my beliefs, yes he does..."

"Why do you think he killed all those mushroom people?"

Toadsworth shook his head. "I wish I knew. Perhaps the loss of the princess unhinged him."

"No," Samus said. "I knew Mario. If he ever loved anything in his life, he did a good job of hiding it." She stood up. "Can you take me to his home?"

"It no longer stands," Toadsworth said. "We had it demolished when he left. We built a park there, to remind us of happy times."

"I see." Samus paused, reflecting... she'd expected this, this total lack of information on Mario's later years, but she had hoped at least for some sort of clue, some tantalizing tidbit left astray...

"I have a simple request, dear," Toadsworth said. "Call it an old man's wishes."

"What is it?"

"Don't go after him. Spare yourself more pain. I can tell you're one who's suffered much already, perhaps at his own hands... let it go."

"I can't do that. And I won't do that. Maybe you're afraid to face what's out there, but I'm not."

"You misunderstand! I'm not afraid in the slightest... I just know the kind of monster you're dealing with."

"Well, so do I. And I know he won't just go away by closing my eyes. Thanks for your time, Toadsworth, but I have unfinished business to attend to."

Samus stood up and began to exit the room, but then Toadsworth spoke.

"He came back, you know. A week or so ago. Came to see me, he did. Told me he expected a visitor... told me he expected _you._"

Toadsworth's voice was heavy. His back was turned.

"He... he told me to tell you where to find him. I said I wanted no part of anything he was doing, I said he was a fool to come back here, I said I wasn't afraid of him... and do you know what he did? Do... do you know what he did?"

Samus said nothing.

"He said he'd... he'd kill every child in the Mushroom Kingdom right... right in front of my eyes if I didn't tell you. And he said he'd know if I didn't. I didn't want to tell you... but it seems you're as devoted to death as he is..."

With a trembling hand Toadsworth reached into his pocket and took out a small, tidily-written note. Samus grabbed it and read. All it said was an address in a different part of the world, and one word:

_Come._

Samus pocketed the note in silence.

"I can't say I wish you luck, dear... all I can do is hope you somehow find a measure of satisfaction, a glimpse of happiness upon the specter of death that looms over you... may the Avatar watch over you, young one..."

She left the inn, a demon in her chest threatening to burst forth. Thus far her three targets had been bad people who'd done bad things, but they had at least shown some measures of humanity, some attempts at goodness. It had been – painful as it was to admit – hard to kill them.

But now...

"_Spare yourself more pain."_

Oh, she certainly would.

* * *

There was, surprisingly, a visitor in the graveyard. For as much as the mushroom people valued life, she did not expect that they would have felt as strongly attached to mementos of death... but then, she supposed, the visitor was a human, a woman of about Samus's height. She obviously did not hear Samus coming and gave a soft gasp when the footfalls approached her.

"You startled me," the woman said.

"I apologize," Samus replied. "That was not my intention. I just came to visit someone."

"Oh?" The woman motioned to the headstone she was hovering over. "But you can't be here to see him... no one ever comes to visit him except me..."

Samus looked at the writing on the marker:

_Luigi_

_In Loving Memory of a Hero_

"They all think that because his brother was such a monster, he must have been too," the woman said bitterly. "But Luigi was so kind, so honest... did they all forget all the times he'd helped save the kingdom? They must have."

Samus watched the woman carefully. "It sounds like he was a good man, despite what others might have thought."

"You're very kind to say so," the woman said. "But you must have heard of him if you're here to visit?"

"One could say that." Samus paused, then pressed on. "I don't normally get sentimental about the dead, but his case interests me."

The woman nodded, staring at the headstone, lost in her own thoughts.

"I come here once a week to pay my respects, you know. I think I'm the only one who does. Certainly Toadsworth would never be caught dead here... he denies any connection he ever had with the Mario Brothers, and that includes Mr. L."

"Mr. L?"

The woman blushed. "It was... my nickname for him."

"You sound like you were very close."

"...one could say that."

Samus stood there in silence for a few moments, letting the wind rustle through her hair and listening to the quiet noises of the peaceful slumber of the dead. Finally, she spoke.

"...I'm going to kill his brother."

"Oh!" The woman clapped her hand to her mouth. "Why would you joke about things like that?"

"I'm not joking. He must pay for wrongs he's caused. I cannot hope to undo all his acts, but I can certainly prevent further ones."

"...no, that won't do. Luigi wouldn't approve."

"Luigi isn't exactly here to give his approval, and I bet his brother is the reason why."

"But – but still! Two wrongs don't make a right!"

"It's a good bit more than _two_ wrongs we're talking about."

The woman stood up, drawing herself level to Samus.

"...you're not a very nice person."

"No. I don't suppose I am."

Samus looked at the headstone and drew the Master Sword from her back; its blade shone in the sunlight as the woman flinched. She raised the weapon and curved it down slowly in an arc. Then she sheathed it and walked off.

"...wait!" The woman called after her, but Samus paid her no heed. It was time to put Mr. L to rest.


	10. The Whims of the Few

**10. The Whims of the Few**

There were so many quiet little hamlets in the world, Samus thought as she approached the house overlooking the hill. So many places seemingly untouched by murder or death, so many places with the potential to be corrupted. For as evil and cruel a place as the world was, it was strange to think that there could still be innocent realms, nice places to raise children.

And of course it was here that her next target had taken refuge. If there was one member of the Nine she had never understood, it was Mario. Perhaps in killing him she could glean an ounce of knowledge about his life.

The house was nondescript, a bit ramshackle, just as the directions had implied. There were no neighbors around for what appeared to be miles – just trees, hills, and the wind. It was as if the fat man had picked such a place solely for this confrontation.

Samus approached the door and turned on her infrared visor. There he was, sitting in the far corner, his rotund shape pronounced. She kicked down the door.

Immediately her legs gave out as something flew into them, sending her sprawling to the floor. She recovered quickly and rolled to the side, but was met with a burst of flame to the face. The power suit absorbed the damage, but her vision was still obscured and she was unprepared for the next blow, which came from above, landing squarely on her back. Again the suit took the brunt of the attack, but the flames still persisted; she reached out to bat them away but then came what she feared would happen – her suit's functions seized up as an electric shock coursed through her body, and a simultaneous blow to the back and the head resulted in darkness.

* * *

"_Hello!"_

_I opened my eyes, and standing beside me was the round face of the fat man._

_Now, I knew everything Toadsworth told me, but the thing is... he distorted the facts a little bit. Just a tad._

_For one, the mushroom man downplayed his own, very personal relationship to the Mario brothers. Snake theorized that the Kingdom had always wanted a protector from outside threats, and Toadsworth was a bit more... permissive with them than he would have been with others, overlooking some of their minor transgressions with a fondness almost bordering on the parental. He held no love for Luigi, always favoring Mario, as did so many of the other mushroom denizens. I think that when the princess was kidnapped, he secretly hoped that Mario would take the plunge and kill the monster... and that certainly backfired in his face._

"_...the hell are you doing in here?" I gasped, running a hand through my disheveled morning hair._

"_I-a want to ask you a question."_

_When Mario left the Mushroom Kingdom after slaughtering all the retainers, Snake found him first. He was the only one who could ever control Mario, the only one who garnered any sense of respect from the fat man. Snake was tight-lipped about Mario, even to me, perhaps because he too was mystified by him._

_The other members of the Nine were never sure of how to take Mario. Some, like Link, simply stayed away from him. Sonic, for his part, took up arms against him from day one, and it was known to everyone that the feeling was assuredly mutual._

"_...can't this wait until -" I checked the clock. "- after five o'clock in the morning?"_

_Mario shrugged. "I couldn't-a sleep. I wanted to ask-a you about your last-a mission... the one to Angel Island."_

_I arched an eyebrow. "What about it?"_

_The deadliest things are usually the most unexpected. Who would have thought a portly plumber would be one of the world's deadliest assassins? Mario, like it or not, taught me to never judge by appearances. Death could come from anywhere, by anyone, at any moment, be they child, beast, or fat man._

_Of course, some people never heeded that lesson._

"_I wanted to know... why did you-a kill all those dingoes? They-a were innocent to the mission."_

"_They were in the way," I said. "They were an obstacle to be eliminated."_

"_But you had already completed the mission. So... why more-a killing?"_

_Now I was getting angry. I stared hard at Mario, who simply looked back, that damnable false sense of kindness sprinkled in his eyes._

"_What does it matter? I did what had to be done, and I don't regret it."_

_There is an old Chozo saying about war, that it is often waged by the many on the whim of a few. I used to wonder... each of us was waging a kind of war in our own way, a personal battle that spilled into the world like a car crash. The many had to suffer for our own shortcomings, fears, and failures. Who got to decide the hierarchy?_

_Mario nodded. "Samus... when the time-a comes for you to retire... which 'R' you gonna be filled with?"_

"_R?"_

"_Every-a warrior, when it's-a their time to go down, is filled with an R... Relief or Regret. So which-a one fits you?"_

_But personal war is different. Where large-scale war is fought across battlefields with weapons and armies, personal war is fought inside the heart. The most common victim of personal war is the soul of the one who wages it._

"_...I don't know. Let me go back to sleep and I'll get back to you on it."_

_Mario chuckled. "Okey-dokey. Just-a remember... when the time-a comes... choose, and act."_

_He stood up and left my room, shutting off the light on his way out._

_My crusade for revenge is a personal war. The question is... what will still be alive at the end of it?

* * *

_

"Hello!"

Samus opened her eyes, and standing beside her was the round face of the fat man.

The alarms began to ring as she stared into Mario's eyes. Four years later and the plumber hadn't changed a bit: his bulbous nose still protruded from his middle-aged face, and his eyes still twinkled with a mischievous and false innocence. She struggled and immediately realized she was bound; she then realized that she was not wearing the power suit.

"It's-a funny," Mario said, "what a good electric shock can-a do. Once you were out, the suit-a came right off. The helmet tried to-a burn me, but the rest was a piece of pizza."

Samus scowled. She was completely defenseless, and she had left the Master Sword behind when she donned her suit.

"So, Samus... let's-a talk. I have so, so many questions for-a you."

She spat in his face. The fat man made no effort to wipe it off, simply smiling as it trickled down his cheeks.

"I don't-a care how you survived. I don't-a care how you found-a the others. But what I really want to know, Samus... is about pain."

Mario twiddled his thumbs together; he spoke patiently, as if he had all the time in the world.

"My-a momma told me there are two things I should-a always remember about pain. It's a response your body has when you've-a gone too far... and it's a response your-a soul has when you're about to. Does-a that make sense? Do you understand?"

Samus said nothing.

"On-a that day, four years ago... you were filled with a lot of-a pain. What I want-a you to think about now is which-a kind of pain you're gonna be filled with when it's all-a over: the physical kind, or-a the spiritual kind?"

She made to spit again but her face was whipped backwards by what felt like a train; her body flew backwards and she could feel several of her teeth loosened by the blow.

"That's-a not very nice," Mario said, rubbing his hand. "Now... I want-a you to get ready. I'm-a gonna make-a you hurt... but think about which pain it is, okay? Which-a pain you feel... that's-a everything."

"I have a question for you," Samus said, sitting upright and staring into the fat man's eyes with fierce, unending hatred. "Why did you cripple Sonic?"

Mario stopped his movement and looked at Samus curiously.

"Somebody had to," he said. "Now, hold-a still... this is gonna hurt -"

A loud splintering noise resonated from the other side of the room. In seconds Mario had leaped to his feet, soaring across the room with a flying kick. Samus tried to turn around to see, but the bonds were too tight for her to maneuver. A familiar electric shocking noise sent a plummeting, ice-cold feeling into Samus's chest.

"She's-a mine!" she could hear Mario yell; there were more loud thuds, several sizzles, and a disturbing noise that sounded like bone on wood. A few moments later Mario limped back over to Samus, clutching a bloody leg.

The fat man hummed as he moved, disappearing into the kitchen and grabbing what Samus assumed was a Tonic of some sort; her suspicions were confirmed as he returned, leg seemingly repaired. "Time-a to move then," he muttered to himself; with one scoop he grabbed Samus, bonds and all, and lifted her off the ground, sprinting past Crono's downed body and taking them into the valley below.


	11. Pain

**11. Pain**

_This is mildly embarrassing,_ Samus thought as Mario dashed down into the hamlet, holding her prone body like it was a duffel bag. For someone so large, the fat man ran with alarming speed, and they had reached the outskirts of the town within minutes.

Passersby gave Mario and Samus odd looks; small children pointed at her precarious position. She did not struggle, simply looking around for something to cut the binds with, but Mario refused to slow down.

The reason why was soon apparent: a burst of lightning from the direction they'd come. The people on the street began to murmur, as it was a fairly clear day, but soon enough a spiky-haired youth, running even faster than Mario and brandishing a sword, appeared on the horizon.

Mario smiled. "How does it-a feel, Samus? To be... the prize-a to be won?"

Samus said nothing. Mario laid her down on a nearby curb and pulled a large blue shell out of his pocket. He chucked it in the distance, and the shell, like a magnet to metal, latched onto Crono's oncoming path. The swordsman jumped over the shell, but it quickly rebounded, pursuing him doggedly. By now people had stopped what they were doing to watch; clearly nothing like this had ever happened in this quiet town before.

Crono had arrived on the street sooner than Samus had thought possible, but Mario was ready for him, and the plumber shoved a large flower into his mouth. He raised his hands and suddenly torrents of flame came spilling out, covering the street and everyone who happened to be present.

"Stop it!" Samus yelled, but Mario paid her no heed; Crono simply leaped over the flames and brought his sword down on Mario's head. The fat man blocked it with another shell, this one green, which he then threw, squarely connecting with Crono's leg. The boy fell to the ground, his sword clattering on the pavement, barely dodging the still-charging blue shell, which burst through the flames unscathed.

From the ground Crono shot a small burst of lightning at Mario; this time the fat man jumped into the air, landing on the boy's damaged leg with a crunch. People screamed in the background; several buildings had also caught on fire.

Now Samus began to struggle against the bonds. She wriggled her way over to the nearest burning structure and waited tentatively for them to snap. Mario didn't seem to notice, staring at Crono's pained face with glee.

"It's a shame," the fat man said. "You-a could have really been somebody. I always thought you had-a great potential... oh well."

The bonds began to loosen... Samus kept watching Mario, hoping he didn't notice... there were still screams all around them...

The blue shell came resting back to its owner; Mario scooped it up like it was a toy and put it back in his overalls. "The Mercenaries..." he muttered to Crono. "You really think-a they are anything compared to what we used to be?"

_Just a little more..._

Crono tried to struggle, but Mario's stance on his leg was too much, and the boy's head fell to the ground with a grimace.

"You feel pain, don't you?" Mario said softly. "But... which kind?"

A loud snapping noise and Samus was on her feet; she grabbed the Rainbow from the ground and in a split-second had closed the gap; she drew the sword down, trying to cut Mario's stomach, but the plumber had seen or heard her, and he dodged the blow, instantly shooting a jet of flame at her direction. Samus narrowly sidestepped the fires, but Mario had pulled a hammer from his overalls, and he swung it with such strength at the Rainbow that Samus felt that the sword might shatter from the blow.

The fat man spun in a circle, twirling the hammer as he did so, striking at Samus multiple times; the Hunter parried each strike with Crono's Rainbow, more resilient than she would have given it credit for. Mario then shot more flames, these ones much smaller and rapider than the larger bursts; Samus dashed around them as the fireballs bounced on the ground, slicing viciously at Mario's head, but the plumber ducked just in the nick of time.

The hairs on the back of Samus's head began to stand up – she glanced at Crono, whose arms were raised,charging his most potent spell – without thinking she grabbed the green shell from the ground and hurled it at Crono's face. The shell connected with a nasty crunch, and the boy fell back to the ground, the electricity around him still lingering.

In the ensuing space, Mario had closed the gap and punched Samus's stomach; a loud crack and an outburst of pain told her that a rib or two was broken. The fat man jumped high, apparently going for the same leg-breaking move he pulled on Crono -

Then there was a flash of light, and Mario cried out, and the Master Sword flew forward, as if summoned by an invisible hand, landing squarely at Samus's feet.

The Hunter didn't have time to register what had just happened; she simply ran with it, chucking aside the Rainbow and scooping up Link's former blade. At once she felt herself infused with new energy and life. Mario slowly got to his feet, a gash across his stomach; he shot forth more flames, but Samus knew instinctively what to do, blocking them with the Master Sword; the fireballs dissipated upon contact with the blade, and the sword itself caught on fire; she swung it, and a cascade of flame shot at the fat man himself, who barely ducked the blast.

Recovering quickly, Mario then drew the blue shell, hurling it at Samus. She smiled, and in an instant cleaved the projectile weapon in two with her blade.

The dust and smoke from the earlier flames were settling; Samus could see firefighters and medical personnel tending to the wounded. Mario looked as well, and in the blink of an eye he backflipped away. Samus swung the Master Sword and beams of energy came pouring out after her foe; his heavy footfalls told her none connected. She ran through the smoke, past the wounded and confused, in pursuit of the fat man.

Mario was already a few blocks away; the area was roped off from the rest of the hamlet, presumably due to the earlier burst of fire. He smiled as Samus approached.

"Isn't this just like-a the dingoes, Samus? Isn't this just destroying whatever-a gets in your way?"

Samus scowled. "You don't get to talk to me about morality, you sick bastard. How many innocents did you slaughter in the Mushroom Kingdom? How may more will die today?"

"I'm-a no guiltier or more innocent than-a you, Hunter. Just-a know this: I feel no pain."

Then he switched his hat out for a green one. Samus swore under her breath; she'd only seen him do this once, and the end result wasn't pretty. Mario's entire body turned a metallic gray, and his voice was strangely echoed, as if he were speaking in a cavern.

"Here we goooooo!"

The fat man charged at Samus; she shot beams of light at him from the Master Sword, but they simply bounced off. She narrowly dodged a metal punch and kick that she knew would have connected with all the force of a speeding truck, and brought the Master Sword around to connect with his leg. Unsurprisingly, the end result was that it, too, ricocheted off with a clang.

Mario reached out his hands to grab Samus, but she backed away, quickly calculating her odds of survival. Nothing she did would work... but there still had to be a way...

"Let's-a go!" Mario charged at her again like a bull, spreading his fists like a lariat; Samus only narrowly ducked out of the way of the blows before an idea struck her.

She ran away from the fat man, back in the direction of their initial encounter, this time down a back alley where they would be no people. A steady clanking behind her indicated that Mario was in pursuit, slowed slightly from the metal cap. She reached her target: where Mario had fought Crono.

Though the boy's body was gone, the hairs on her body stood up again. Mario charged blindly forward as she raised the Master Sword; amazingly, it began to absorb the electric charges around her, and she shot them in a burst at the oncoming plumber, who squealed as the metal conducted the blast. His green cap flying off, Mario fell to the ground, burned and singed.

The Hunter walked over, panting audibly. She looked down at Mario and felt a hot flash of anger, kicking the plumber in his stomach wound.

"You asked me," she said, "which 'R' I felt: relief or regret. And though my time as a warrior isn't over yet, I will say that right now the only 'R' I feel is regret. Regret that I couldn't make you suffer more."

"Y-You..." Mario gasped. "You got it... right..."

"I would ask why you did the things you did, but I know that there's no rhyme or reason to sociopaths like yourself. You deserve everything you got, and more."

Mario smiled. "When I-a killed all-a the Mushroom Retainers... they all knew the truth... what really happened... I... couldn't-a let them live... just like you can't-a let me live... because I've-a seen the real you..."

"Enough." Samus raised the Master Sword. "You've hurt enough people today."

"Will you help any of them... in your-a infinite generosity, Samus? Will you... use your powers to... heal the good... instead of punishing the wicked?"

"You know the answer to that as well as I do," Samus said.

"Then I know which pain... which pain you have, after all..."

She sliced downward, and the blade cut through Mario's neck, decapitating him.

* * *

There is an area of the world known as the Northern Crater, a large, circular hole in the planet itself. The Crater does not see any visitors, for there is much fear and legend surrounding it, and the area is rather inhospitable for travelers. Still, this did not deter one man, who stood towards the center of the crater, staring at a figure encased in an icy tomb.

"Your time has come again, brother," Cloud Strife said.


	12. Inner Demons

**12. Inner Demons**

"...you know, that's a bad habit you've got there."

"There's no such thing as a bad habit. They keep us human. And we need to be reminded of that, in our line of work."

The silver-haired man smirked. "Whatever justification you need to take."

The brown-haired man nodded. "Something like that." He looked down at the still body, sprawled out in front of him. "The last member of FOXHOUND dead. Never thought I'd see the day."

"How does it feel? To be free of the burden, to have left the past behind?"

"Freedom from the past doesn't exist. There's always going to be demons in our lives."

"Is that why you spared the girl?" The silver-haired man motioned toward a teenage girl, squatting in the fetal position, staring off into the distance.

The brown-haired man said nothing, extinguishing his cigarette and letting the smoke permeate the stillness.

"She's a witness to the crime," the silver-haired man said. "We could kill her and be done with it."

The brown-haired man watched the girl carefully, the setting sun framing her slender figure. Finally, he spoke.

"...we won't do that. We're not cold-blooded killers. We're soldiers."

The silver-haired man laughed, his youthful face breaking into a rare smile. "Not killers? We are all killers... we kill by virtue of our existence, let alone with our actions."

"Not any more. The time for mindless killing is over. With FOXHOUND gone, we can take control... we can create a world for soldiers, where we can live on through endless battle, where we set the rules of engagement... and we will make them as warriors. Not killers."

"This girl could destroy everything we've worked for. Is that the code of the warrior, to stand idly by and let her do so?"

At this, the brown-haired man approached the girl. "Hello, kiddo," he said quietly.

The girl blinked, as if emerging from a trance. She stared at the man like he was an object in a museum, something far away, behind glass.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"My... name?"

The silver-haired man rolled his eyes.

"I..." the girl continued. "I don't... know..."

"Do you know what's just happened here?"

"No... who are you?"

The brown-haired man turned to face his companion, then returned his attention to the girl. "You don't remember anything?"

"I remember... a name..."

"Yeah?"

"_Chozo_."

* * *

"She's asleep."

The silver-haired man now stood with his back against a tree, a strong hand wiping the hair from over his eyes.

"I never knew you to be the sentimental type, Snake."

"She's innocent in all of this. Mantis was just playing around with her, and who knows what he did -"

"There have been many other victims in many other lands we've ignored. What makes her so special?"

"...do you know who the Chozo are?"

The silver-haired man arched an eyebrow. "I've heard legends. So the girl remembers a bedtime story. What good does that do?"

"That's not all she remembered. She told me where Mantis took something that belonged to her. She showed it to me."

"And?"

"It's a Chozo creation, Sephiroth. A suit. It has their design, their functions, their power... and only she can wear it."

For a second the silver-haired man lost his composure and a slack-jawed look overtook his noble face. Then he regained control of himself and a blank, dispassionate expression replaced the incredulity.

"...I see."

The two men stood in silence as leaves rustled past them. Finally, the brown-haired man spoke.

"I want you to take her."

"Excuse me?"

"She could become one of us. She could become _greater_ than us. But she needs training first, and you're the best man for the job."

The silver-haired man frowned. "I have no interest in being a teacher."

"If we're going to make our dream a reality, we need to expand... and she has _incredible_ potential with that suit. I want to make sure she can function without it as well."

"And why can't you perform this sundry task? Is this beneath the attentions of the mighty Solid Snake?"

"Like I said, you're the best man for the job. Teach her everything you know, then come back to me."

The silver-haired man's eyes narrowed.

"...very well. But I set the terms."

"Of course."

* * *

"...who's-a the girl?"

Sephiroth scowled at the fat man. "She is one of us now."

Mario looked her over, taking in her form-fitting jumpsuit, and nodded curtly.

"I have-a matters to-a discuss with you, Sephiroth... in-a private."

"Whatever you must say to me can be said in front of her. As I said -"

"She is one of us," Mario said. "Yes."

For a moment the two men, tall and stout, stared at each other, invisible waves of tension passing between them so thick that the girl could practically reach out and touch them.

"...my-a brother has been asking questions," Mario continued. "He's-a too good for this. He would not approve."

"Then remove him from our path," Sephiroth replied. "We have already come so far, there is no sense in being deterred by fools who would see us ruined."

"That's not our way," came a gruff voice from behind them. "You know this."

"Snake," Mario said, "he cannot be turned to our-a side. We must-a eliminate him."

"You would kill your own brother?" Snake asked.

Mario nodded. "If it-a would do good in the world."

Snake frowned. "...no. I won't put that on your conscience."

The fat man opened his mouth, but the girl interrupted.

"Snake... let me."

Sephiroth smiled. "Fitting. If she is still unworthy in your eyes, Mario, let her prove her worth to you."

Mario stared hard at the girl. "If that's-a your wish... then go ahead. Just be-a prepared."

The girl nodded. "I always am."

* * *

"They say the doctor will be finished soon," Sephiroth said, casually flicking his sword at the training dummy.

"I'm skeptical," Samus said. "A thinking robot... what if it turns on us?"

"The same concern could be held for any of us," the swordsman replied. "We are all unique personalities with egos larger than planets. The robot will be a welcome addition... and soon, Snake's 'ultimate vision' will come to fruition."

"Why the bitter tone?" Samus asked.

Sephiroth blinked. "You don't think our great leader is a tad naïve?"

"No, I don't," Samus said. "I think he's brilliant. A world for warriors... I can see it now..."

The silver-haired man snorted, striking the dummy with a flurry of slashes. "Such a world would come with a heavy cost. Do you truly want that upon your shoulders?"

"If the net gain is greater than the loss," the woman said, "then yes."

Sephiroth abruptly stopped his movements, standing statue-like. He sighed. "It seems I've trained you well, then... _too_ well, in fact."

Samus crossed her arms. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. You're a bright girl."

A sudden flash and Samus had drawn her energy sword, glowing dully in the dim light of the training room. Sephiroth smiled.

"You don't want this fight. Not now. Not ever."

"On the contrary," Samus said, inching closer. "I want it more badly than you can possibly imagine."

Sephiroth stopped smiling. "They're calling you 'the Hunter,' you know... but then again, I'm certain you do... Snake tells you everything, doesn't he... yes, our fearless, impartial leader..."

"You're going to say something you'll regret soon," Samus said.

"There is an old proverb: regrets are just things we have yet to accomplish. So in that sense, 'Hunter,' your regrets must be infinite."

Samus stopped moving toward Sephiroth.

"...why are you saying these things?" she asked; her voice actually sounded hurt.

"What's going on here?"

The training room door burst open and in came Snake, his eyes rapidly taking in the situation.

"Nothing," Sephiroth said. "I was just leaving."

"Before you go," Snake said, "Dr. Light's robot has arrived. It needs a tour of the island."

Sephiroth gave a quick bow and walked out of the training room. Samus sheathed her energy sword and made to leave as well, but Snake stopped her.

"Mind yourself," he said. "You know what Cloud said."

Samus said nothing.

* * *

The silver-haired man stood and watched as six individuals beat the blonde-haired woman to a bloody pulp. The brown-haired man, now with flecks of gray, stood next to him.

"Just like old times, eh?" Sephiroth asked.

Silence.


	13. Of Secrets Long Buried

**13. Of Secrets Long Buried**

Dead. This town was dead. A dark shroud hung low over the ruined buildings like a fine mist, decaying everything in its path; the streets were barren and empty, and buildings rotted in the background: something terrible had happened to Nibelheim, and Samus, for the first time in her quest, had no idea what it was.

She had journeyed to yet another small town in an attempt to track down the next target on her list. As had happened with the Mushroom Kingdom, perhaps visiting the hometown of Cloud Strife would lead to answers... yet all she found were more questions.

A few buildings down and Samus found what she was looking for: a tavern. With the Master Sword strapped to her back, she walked in.

The place was mostly deserted, though there were a few patrons huddled in the back of the bar. A grizzled old man polished a mug behind the counter, eying Samus suspiciously as she approached and sat down.

"Hi," Samus said perkily, fully aware that all eyes in the tavern were on her. "I was wondering if you could help me?"

The barman stared at Samus, his eyes moving toward the handle of the blade on Samus's back.

"I need some information," Samus pressed on. "I'm looking for an old friend of mine... he's from around here. Cloud Strife?"

Still the barman was silent. Samus kept eye contact with him, smiling sweetly all the while. Finally, he spoke in a slow drawl.

"...Tifa."

There was a sound from the corner and out walked a woman who had to be Samus's age, maybe a little older. She had long legs, a large chest, and a tired look about her face. The barman motioned to Samus, then walked back in the direction the woman – Tifa, apparently – had come from.

Tifa nodded at Samus. "We don't see many strangers around here. Not since what happened three years ago. Not a lot of reasons to come to Nibelheim anyway, but now..."

Samus said nothing, waiting instead for Tifa to continue.

"So. You wanna know about Cloud."

"Yes," Samus said. "I'm trying to find him."

Tifa smiled a sad, wistful kind of smile. "Good luck with that. Cloud hasn't set foot here in years."

"I had a feeling that was the case. I'm hoping maybe you can give me some kind of clue as to where he might be."

"Heh." Tifa also looked at the Master Sword. "I'm guessing you're the Hunter then."

Samus blinked. "Never heard of him."

"Come off it," Tifa continued. "A girl with a sword strapped to her back waltzes into a decrepit town asking for one of the world's deadliest men... you're good at killing, sweetie, but not at acting."

Samus frowned. "Okay, fine. I've made no effort to operate in secret. I want to kill Cloud. You can either help me or get out of my way and pray I'm in a good mood."

Tifa looked at Samus for a few seconds, as if sizing her up.

"...come with me."

The woman led Samus into the back of the tavern, past the grizzled bartender and down a flight of stairs, where they walked into an empty, dimly-lit room with one table, some chairs, and a low-hanging lamp. Samus took a seat; Tifa sat across from her.

"Now we can talk a little... more freely," Tifa said. "Do you know who I am, Hunter?"

"Not in the sense that you probably mean," Samus said.

"There's been rumors – among people that know what they're talking about – that you disappeared for the past four years. If that's true, there's probably a lot you don't know about what the world's become... and where it's heading."

"If you're talking about the Mercenaries," Samus said, "I've met them. They didn't live up to the hype."

"The Mercs are just one piece of the puzzle," Tifa said. "You're hunting down the rest of the Noble Nine, from what I've heard – you don't have to tell me why, it's none of my business. But since the Nine disbanded, there's been all kinds of new groups that have sprung up, the Mercs being the most successful. And then there's, well, me."

Tifa stood up and began to pace around the room.

"There is a mansion," she said, "in the north part of Nibelheim. It has some... nasty secrets in it. Three years ago... _he_ came here, in search of answers..."

At this, Tifa drew her arms to her chest, as if mentally shivering from the thought.

"And that's where I come in, Hunter. That's where _we_ come in. AVALANCHE."

"...AVALANCHE?"

Tifa nodded. "It's a group devoted to taking the power back to the people and away from terrorist organizations like the Mercenaries. The world doesn't need any more killing... the world needs peace."

"And how do you seek to maintain this peace?" Samus asked.

"Funny you should mention that," Tifa said, smiling her half-defeated smile. "I think it was your boss that came up with the 'code of the warrior,' and we've been operating under a modified version of that, killing only when necessary, emphasizing justice over punishment."

"I don't understand," Samus said.

"I wouldn't expect you to, Hunter."

"Watch your tone," Samus said. "And I don't see how this is relevant to -"

"AVALANCHE," Tifa said, "is working to undermine the efforts of the Mercenaries and other rival groups. We have intel at various places around the world. We've... _I've_ been following Cloud for a while."

"Why?" Samus asked. "Cloud was never an exceptional fighter."

"There's a lot of reasons why you'd want to know how somebody's doing," Tifa said, growing quiet. "Anyway, I don't know where he is now. But I can tell you this: go to the basement of the mansion. Read what's inside. Then maybe you'll understand a little bit more."

"I didn't come here for riddles," Samus said.

"No. You came here for killing. More killing... is that really the answer to everything? Is that all you know how to do?"

Samus sighed and stood up. "Thank you for your time. Good luck with your mission... to rid the world of evil is a noble cause. Just make sure you let me get to my targets first."

Tifa looked at the ground. "I... I want to ask you a favor. When you see Cloud... tell him... tell him I'm sorry."

"...you're sorry?"

Tifa nodded. "That's all. Good luck to you also, Hunter."

* * *

The mansion loomed in the distance, with a broken fence, an overrun lawn, and a creepy atmosphere being the sole deterrents for any travelers. As Samus was unfazed by all three, she marched inside.

She stared at the cobwebbed main room. Ornate staircases led to darkened floors, and a small hallway off to the side seemed to curve downward toward the lower level. Knowing that Tifa had said to check the basement, she walked forward, careful to watch her step on the rickety ledge.

Samus had brought her power suit with her in the event of any unexpected encounters, and the infrared visor did not indicate any human lifeforms in the mansion's perimeter. She still kept her arm cannon at the ready, knowing full well that anything could happen.

As she reached the bottom of the winding stairs, she looked around. The basement appeared to be a miniature laboratory, with bookshelves stacked to the ceiling and dusty tables and equipment scattered around the floor. In stark contrast with Dr. Light's pristine lab, this place seemed to have been assembled largely at random, with no rhyme or reason to the layout.

The Hunter sifted through some files and papers, unsure of what she was supposed to be looking for. Tifa had said she would find answers here... was this a large joke played upon her by a woman who obviously sought to destroy her kind? She turned over a binder and wiped away the years of dust on the cover, which made her do a double-take:

_The Jenova Project_

Jenova... that name rang a bell, and Samus tried to run through her brain, searching for where she'd heard it. After a few seconds, she opened the binder and read on:

_After years of careful analysis and experimentation, I have ascertained that the Jenova Project has been a success. I have managed to successfully breed a new descendant of the ancient being using my DNA and hers; the resulting cross-breed has matured into a full-grown man, albeit one without any knowledge of his origins. My experiment has powers far beyond those of normal men, and it is my fervent hope that he will be the first in a line of new, powerful soldiers._

Samus read on, her curiosity piqued. Nowhere in the entire report did it name the man in question, though she did learn quite a bit about genetics and the origins of the mysterious "Jenova," hypothesized to have been part of an ancient race that once walked the planet. Once finished, she grabbed the folder behind the binder and gasped.

Looking out from the faded black-and-white photograph, with the word "SUCCESS" blazoned across... it was _him.

* * *

_

Samus parried the strike, but soon fell to a flurry of rapid cuts that sliced across her abdomen.

"Ow! No fair!"

"You left yourself open," Sephiroth said, "and that is your punishment."

He relented, tossing the girl a Tonic. After she had downed most of the bottle, the swordsman spoke again. "That's enough for today."

"But I want to keep practicing," Samus said.

"Part of being a successful fighter is knowing your limitations," Sephiroth said. "You are tired, and when you are tired, you are careless. We will resume tomorrow."

Samus knew better than to argue. She pocketed the remainder of the Tonic and sat down. Her teacher stood against the wall, as he so often did, lost in thought; she also knew better than to interrupt this meditation.

Today, however, was different.

"I have a question," Samus said.

"Oh?" Sephiroth replied, still facing the wall.

"You know all about me – at least, as much as I know, which isn't that much. But I don't know anything about you."

"...that's not a question."

"Fine then, a statement. Whatever. I still don't know who you are, or where you've come from, or why you're training me, or... well, anything. And you've said that the most important thing is knowledge..."

Sephiroth hesitated for a few seconds. Finally, he spoke.

"...there isn't much to say. I was an orphan raised by an army. They only told me the name of my mother – Jenova – and that was it. I left the army when I met Snake. That's all there is to it."

"That can't be it. Where did you get the giant sword?"

"The 'giant sword' was always mine. And I don't want to oversaturate you with information -"

"Or it could be that you just don't like talking about yourself."

"...nobody ever _asks_ me about myself. Most people know better."

Samus smiled. "Guess I'm still learning, huh?"

Sephiroth looked at her. "I suppose so."

* * *

The Masamune clashed with the old blade she had been given at the start of their training; Samus was behaving carelessly, recklessly, letting too many strikes in. When Sephiroth almost took her head off with a swing of the Masamune, he stopped.

"You are not focusing!" he said. "You're being distracted easily! You have to give the battle your all, or else it will take all of you."

"I'm sorry," Samus said. "I've just been thinking... you said you were raised by an army -"

"Not this again," Sephiroth hissed.

"What was it like?"

Sephiroth's angry expression relented. "...what?"

"What was it like, being raised in that kind of environment? Did you have any friends?"

"...why are you asking me this?"

"I was just curious," Samus said.

The swordsman sighed. "No, I did not have any friends. At an early age I was promoted to a high rank, which upset many of my peers. I was always the best in the army, and that sole fact was enough to keep them away."

"And how did you meet Snake?" Samus asked; there was an eagerness in her voice that Sephiroth had never heard before.

"I had the fortune of meeting Snake while he was on a mission. He was hunting down old enemies, and the leader of my unit happened to be one of them. I was tasked to protect my commanding officer... but I eventually sided with Snake."

"You turned on the army?" Samus asked, her eyes wide.

"That's right."

"What happened then?"

"I fled, of course. Snake was able to protect me and I joined his crusade out of loyalty."

"Wow..."

"Indeed. Is your curiosity sated then?"

Samus nodded. "Want to continue?"

"Let's."

* * *

"Another failure, Agent Crono?"

The kid locked eyes with his superior. They had once again tracked the Hunter's location, and she had once again eluded capture, and Crono had once again lost the fight. The boy smiled at this thought... it wasn't often that he lost. Losing only gave him the drive to grow stronger.

"Hrm... only four remain now, including yourself. Our knowledge of the Hunter indicates that she is most likely saving Snake for last. That leaves the soldiers..."

For a moment the superior fell silent, seemingly lost in thought; Crono chose not to interrupt him, instead fantasizing about the next confrontation he would surely have with the Hunter... how their blades would assuredly lock, how his lightning would penetrate her defenses... he wasn't ready before to face her, but he was ready now.

"We have no leads," his superior resumed, "as to their present-day whereabouts, so I suggest you continue to track the Hunter in an attempt to – oh?"

Crono pointed to the large map of the world against the wall, resting his finger on the large dot labeled "Midgar."

"...the industrial city? I don't know why either one would be there, but if you're so sure that the Hunter will search for them there..."

The kid nodded, grinning.

"Very well, Agent. But I'm assigning you some backup this time."

His smile faded abruptly.

"You've failed to capture the Hunter twice on your own. Perhaps a team will have better luck. I've already dispatched your partner to the exit – you may meet him there. Good luck, Crono."

Sulking, Crono left the office. The glory of facing the Hunter in combat should be his and his alone, and he flat-out refused to let anyone stand in the way of his triumph. He could certainly use his "partner" to get closer to the Hunter, but when it came down to it, only he would take her down.

As Crono rounded the corner towards the exit, mulling wonderful images over in his head again, he came to a sudden stop and gaped openly at his new teammate.

"Hello, Crono," Magus said. "It's been a while."


	14. Battle with Honor and Humanity

**14. Battle with Honor and Humanity**

The balding man turned to his wife. "Those damn Turks are going to monopolize our entire venue!"

"Shhh! They'll hear you. And you definitely don't want that."

"Heyyy, garcon! More of those little crispy wafers for the party. Step on it."

"…yes sir."

It was a typical weekend in this Sector of Midgar, one of the world's most bustling metropolises. And on typical weekends, the Pizza Plate did incredible business. But it also had a habit of attracting… unsavory clientele.

Cloud Strife smirked into his drink. He had overheard the comments the proprietor of the Pizza had made, and he would not lift a finger in protest. Such was not the way of the consummate warrior.

The same, however, could not be said of his allies.

"So then," the fiery redhead continued, "I flipped my cards. Three pair. The guy says to me, 'Heyyy Axel, how can you have three pair? You're only supposed to have five cards!' And you know what I said? I told him that when you have a full hand, you make the rules. And I won. That's how you live life, fellas."

Axel smiled broadly, adjusting the collar on his trademark black cloak.

"Cute story," Cloud said. "But I think it's time to get down to business."

The young girl next to Cloud nodded, removing her arm from his lap as she did so. "I'm still not sure why we're here. After all, it's not exactly inconspicuous."

"Only Midgar has the technology to unfreeze Sephiroth," Cloud replied. "I just figured we'd do a little celebrating before we got to the main event."

"Celebrating what?" she asked.

"Life, I'd assume," Axel interjected. "We are the best, after all, Presea."

Presea's normally dour expression grew even more pronounced. "And why did we bring the frozen ice block with us?"

"Come on, girl," Axel said. "You worry too much."

"I've just heard rumors, that's all," Presea said. "Rumors that a certain someone is gunning for our necks, and that it wouldn't be wise to go about parading ourselves to the public –"

"Trust me," Cloud said. "Tonight will be a night to remember."

That seemed to satisfy the young girl, who placed her arm back in Cloud's lap, gently stroking his leg. The truth of the matter was that Cloud had a very good reason for keeping things concealed from his Turks. Sometimes, as he had learned all too well, the truth could do more harm than good.

"You ain't saying much," Axel said to the cloaked figure seated next to him.

"I invited my friend here to observe, not to party," Cloud said.

Axel shrugged, munching on his breadstick.

Ignoring Presea's affections, Cloud eyed the entrance to the Pizza Plate, visible from their prime balcony seating. The Plate was renowned as one of the most notable haunts for the Turks, and Cloud had specifically designed it that way: where his former teammates operated in secret and stealth, Cloud chose a different path, the path of open combat. It was not the first time he'd deviated from his peers, nor would it be the last.

_Any second now,_ he thought. He had done his part. He had warned the others. Soon, she would come for him. But she would fail here. Not because of his Turks, not because of any deficiency she herself possessed… but because of _him._

The cloaked figure stirred, and Cloud saw her, the red contours of the power suit sans helmet brilliant even in the dim lighting. Their eyes met through the sea of people.

"Cloud Strife," she called, her voice ringing out above the chatter, which died away almost instantly. "You and I have unfinished business."

"Shit." Axel stood up instantly, and Presea followed, both brandishing their weapons. The cloaked figure and Cloud remained seated. The bald proprietor approached the Hunter, whispered words Cloud could not hear. Then Samus took it out – even from a distance, there was no mistaking the glint of the Master Sword. Several people screamed, and a veritable stampede of people ran for the exits all across the Pizza Plate. Within moments it was just her, the Turks, and a man in the back wrapped in ice.

Axel and Presea had already run downstairs, Axel's chakram and Presea's hammer twirling idly in their hands. The Hunter barely gave them a second glance, her eyes still boring into his.

"Stand down," she told them. "This does not concern you."

"You got a problem with our boss, lady, you take it up with us," Axel said, taking a step forward. His chakram ignited in a burst of flame.

"Where is Sephiroth?" she called out to Cloud, still ignoring his hand-picked team of elite operatives, as if they were mere insects under her foot.

_Where is Sephiroth…

* * *

_

_The black-caped man sighed deeply. He was disappointed._

"_I am done here."_

"…_done?" I asked._

_He nodded. "I have given up on training you. You are nothing. You are worthless. You are a puppet whose strings have been cut."_

"_But… but you said –"_

"_I know what I said. But you have proven inadequate beyond every measure. Your ultimate fate is up to Snake." And he walked away, leaving a gaping hole where my heart used to be._

_I stood there, rooted to the spot, for what felt like years. Eventually, I heard a voice._

"_Cloud?"_

_I turned around. It was her. His prize student, the one who could do no wrong, the untouchable beast of the Noble Nine. I stared at her numbly, like she was the world and I was a satellite tumbling through space._

"_Where is Sephiroth?"_

"…_there's something you should know about Sephiroth." The words tumbled out and I could do nothing to stop them. What could I tell her? He was a bastard, a horrible man who expected perfection, an undying light against which all others were shadow?_

"_Oh?"_

_And I told her the one thing that would forever change the world we all lived in._

"_He loves you."

* * *

_

"That's not your immediate concern, Hunter," Cloud said. "I am."

Samus scowled, finally turning to the man and girl before her. She placed her helmet atop her head.

"Last chance to walk away."

"Yeah right," the man – whom she had learned was Axel – said, and he charged at her. The flaming chakram's blows were easily dodged and rebuffed by the Master Sword, but he himself was nimble enough to evade her own parries. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the girl – Presea – lunge forward with her hammer, and she spiraled up into the air out of both of their reaches, wall jumping off of a pillar and shooting plasma at their direction. Axel simply absorbed the shots while Presea dodged.

Samus shot her grappling hook and latched onto the girl's hammer, a move she was clearly not expecting. The hammer was too heavy to completely pull, but the Hunter was still able to knock her off balance and move her into the path of an incoming chakram strike, which cut deep into her shoulder and set her shirt ablaze.

Presea cried out in pain, but Axel recovered first, slicing upwards at Samus's head. She let the power suit absorb the blow, and swung with the full energy of the Master Sword as the chakram – and Axel's hand – was severed in two. This time it was his turn to yell, falling to the floor and cradling his stump.

The girl drew her hammer up, and Samus cut that as well, slicing the head off neatly and piercing Presea's heart with the blade.

"Word of advice, sister," Samus said. "Choose your lovers better."

Presea fell to the ground as Samus retracted the blade, turning this time to Axel. She pointed her arm cannon in his face as he stared at her, his face still in shock: was he so surprised to be beaten so easily? Or stunned that his employer had left him to die?

"W-Wait," he said, breathing heavily. "I can help you… I'll tell you everything he's got planned for you… just let me live… please…"

"You had your chance," Samus said. "The Hunter only offers mercy once." She swung the Master Sword as it cut through Axel's neck like butter.

She looked up at the balcony to Cloud, who had yet to stand up from his table.

"Hiding behind your subordinates?" she called. "That only earns you seconds."

In response, the blond-haired man said one word.

"Now."

From the table Cloud was sitting at came a cloaked figure, who hopped down from the balcony and landed without a scratch on the bloodied ground below. Samus couldn't make out his face – she scanned him with infrared and it showed that he wasn't a machine… just another obstacle to be eliminated.

Then the figure took off his hood and Samus did something she hadn't done in years – she shuddered.

"Samus Aran," Cloud said, "meet Arthas Menethil."

The man's eyes burned unnaturally bright and his matted white hair hung over his sunken face. But it was the facial expression that burned Samus – he was grinning with a manic energy that she had only seen once before… on the face of a fat man.

"I have hungered to meet you for quite some time, Hunter," Arthas said, drawing a sword from his cloak and stepping forward. "Have you heard the legend of Frostmourne, the cursed blade? They say it was forged in direct opposition to the very sword you now wield… let us test that theory, shall we?"

Samus said nothing, drawing up the Master Sword in a defensive position.

Arthas charged at her, cackling like a maniac, and he was _fast_ - Samus barely had time to react to his furious strikes, which seemed to take all of her energy. She could hear Frostmourne whistling through the air as it struck Link's chosen blade, and blow for blow they matched each other, circling around the Plate in a stately waltz of death.

As their swords clashed overheard, Samus dropped and prepared to fire a point-blank missile – only to realize too late that this had been exactly what Arthas had been waiting for. Frostmourne glowed with an eerie light and in a split-second he had done something no one else had ever done before: he had broken through the power suit, the greatest of the Chozo creations, and pierced Samus's side.

"Ahhhhh!" Samus howled in rage and surprise, but she found herself unable to lift the Master Sword in response.

Arthas smiled. "Now, Hunter… your soul belongs to the power of Frostmourne. In just a few moments you will be as I am, a slave to ancient demons, and your little quest for revenge will be at its end."

The suit's diagnostics were blazing red all around her, emergency warning lights and critical failures flashing – Samus's vision was fading in and out, and there was nothing she could do about it – Arthas was laughing maniacally, he was inside her head, a demonic figure clad in platemail raising his sword in triumph –

"No…"

"_Snake…"_

"No…"

_He pointed the gun in between her eyes, sighing deeply._

"NO!"

The cursed blade was expelled from her body and Arthas went flying backwards, stunned; she could move again, could breathe again, and the red flashing lights were replaced with one thought in her brain, obliterating all sense, all failure, all missives of desperation:

_Snake._

She screamed, lunging at Arthas, hacking away at every bit of the man that she could reach; he drew Frostmourne forward, attempting to defend himself, but strange powers were now emanating from the Master Sword, and the blade was glowing, healing her wound, mending her suit, shooting cascades of white energy at Arthas, who was growling, still matching her furious movements but clearly becoming outmatched –

Then the Master Sword shot flames from its tip, and Samus found herself enveloped in them, a living embodiment of fire and fury, and she shot electricity, ice, plasma, missiles, anything and everything she could at this man who _dared_ to stand in the way of her bloody satisfaction, and the Hunter lost herself in her rage, in her blindness, and when she found herself again the Master Sword had penetrated Arthas's heart, Frostmourne clattering to the floor, its demonic essence shattered.

There were no words to say, nothing to articulate. She simply twisted the blade, hot blood spilling over everything, until Arthas Menethil fell down and stayed down.

Breathing heavily, she exhaled as the flames dissipated from her body. She once again looked up at Cloud, whose face still held an expression of pointed neutrality. Finally, he spoke.

"…that was unexpected."

The man slowly stood up and walked down the stairs, the massive blade he called the Buster Sword strapped to his back. He looked around the room at his fallen followers, at the mystery man in whose services he had so depended upon. Then he looked up at Samus.

"I will say one thing to you, Hunter, before we duel. You deserve your revenge… and we deserve to die."

He unsheathed the Buster Sword.

"But then again… so do you."

She raised the Master Sword and prepared to strike when another, deeper voice called out from behind her.

"So."

She turned around to find a man with long blue hair, his muscular arms crossed over his chest and a look of bemusement on his aristocratic face. Next to him stood Crono, the Rainbow in his hand.

Cloud smiled. "You really didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

Samus turned back to him. "For a second there… yeah, I did."

There was a large explosion of energy in the center of the room that Samus recognized as shadow magic. She jumped high into the air and grabbed onto the scaffolding as the blue-haired man shot fireballs up at her, setting the banisters ablaze. Crono lunged at Cloud, and the shorter boy shot sparks of lightning at the older man, who deflected it with a casual wave of the Buster Sword.

Samus spiraled down, firing missiles at Cloud's face; the former soldier cut through them and dodged the Rainbow's strikes simultaneously, leaping aside as Samus landed and cutting Samus's arm with the Buster Sword. The suit absorbed the blow, and Samus fired a stream of ice at Cloud, but the ice dissipated as a fireball hit Samus squarely in the stomach, sending her flying backwards.

"Magus," Cloud said. "I'm surprised to see you still alive."

"No thanks to you, Soldier," the blue-haired man said mockingly. "What a twist of fate that we should all be brought here to die together." He snapped his fingers and a low rumbling filled the Pizza Plate; abruptly the ground around Samus's feet turned to ice. She shot superheated flames at the ground, clearing a path towards Magus, but Crono shot another arc of lightning, this time in her direction, and her vision grew obscured from the blow.

She could hear swords clashing and the distinctive sound of wood cracking above her as the top floor began to cave in from the fire. She switched to infrared and narrowly avoided Crono chopping at her head, curving into her morph ball form, dropping small bombs as she circled the boy's feet.

Her vision came back online and she could see Cloud lunging at Magus with a flurry of strikes, but the wizard parried them with a black scythe. Samus came out of morph ball form and kicked one of her bombs into the corner, blowing a hole in the wall leading to the outside. Knowing full well that the Plate would soon collapse, she dashed outside, slashing at the pursuing Crono as she did so.

It was raining in the top levels of Midgar, and a low, distant rumbling of lightning filled the air. She screw attacked up the side of the building, not wanting to injure any innocent people, and shot missiles down at her incoming foes. When she reached the top she found Cloud already waiting for her, having cut a hole through the balcony level himself. She fired an ice beam at him then charged with the Master Sword; the two blades clashed in the rain, sparks flying amid the mist.

Magus soon followed from behind, levitating off the ground and lazily firing spells at both of them. Samus could feel the tug from a particularly nasty shadow spell behind her, but she was able to dodge it and drop once more into morph ball, this time laying a bomb that glowed faintly yellow directly at Cloud's feet. She could hear the blond-haired man gasp and sprint away as the power bomb exploded, taking out a huge chunk of the Pizza Plate's roof, and shooting rubble – and Samus's ball form – high into the air. The Hunter returned to normal while midair, shooting plasma as Cloud tried to regain his footing, connecting squarely on his arms and legs.

She fell next to Cloud, but the soldier anticipated this, slashing violently at her legs and sending her sprawling to the jagged ground; Magus shot an ice spell at her from behind, binding her to the roof, but she slashed back at him with the Master Sword, shooting beams of light.

Cloud then leaped off from a distance, Buster Sword pointed downward, attempting to impale Samus, but the ice spell broke and the Hunter skirted free, instead greeting Cloud with fire beams, burning his clothes and singeing his body. She followed it up with a quick charge with the Master Sword, though the weakened Cloud was still able to fend off her attacks.

Then she felt it – that prickling sensation as the electricity of the surrounding was concentrated into one point. She spun around to find Crono's arms raised high into the air, his face alive with concentration, about to prepare what he had been unable to get off in their previous two meetings.

And Crono spoke one word, the only word Samus had ever heard him say.

"_Luminaire._"

The world exploded in a flurry of electric shocks; the suit convulsed and its functions ceased almost instantaneously, going into furious spasms, she could hear people screaming, shards of concrete flying into the air as the potent mass of Crono's most powerful spell was released. The Hunter flew back down to the street below as the entire Sector around them began to quake, with the remains of the Plate toppling onto her fallen body, the woman inside the suit completely defenseless against the cascading building –

She expected it to end right there, for her quest to dissolve in a brilliant, painful flash of electric charge. After what felt like years, she shakily removed her helmet to see again, fully expecting to be buried under tons of rubble – and she gaped openly at what she saw.

She was flying, high into the air, held aloft by a winged creature, its single black wing beating majestically in the night sky. She was soaring above Midgar, looking down at the people fleeing in terror; she could see the blue hair of Magus as they descended, the red hair of Crono at the spell's epicenter, grinning, and the silver hair of the man who had saved her life.

As they landed, Samus could make out other destroyed buildings; it seemed as if the very Sector had collapsed. She looked up into the face of her savior and heard no warning claxons, no alarm bells. All she felt was pain, and a palpable sense of confusion.

"Run," Sephiroth said. "Run, and don't look back."

With a shaking hand, parts of his legs still encapsulated in ice, he raised the Masamune to the air and the mighty blade was struck by lightning, surging it with power. Samus stood rooted to the spot as her former teacher walked purposefully to the ruins, his blade glinting silver, his face always that same damnable calm.

Sephiroth slashed out twice with the Masamune, sending out torrents of lightning at Crono and Magus; the latter barely had time to erect a magical barrier to negate the damage, but even then they were still forced backwards.

Samus slowly stripped off the suit, its functions still offline, and grabbed the Master Sword. She could see Cloud retreating in the distance, limping slowly across the rubble; but Sephiroth had seen as well, and with a single flap of his black wing he had closed the distance between them, impaling Cloud through the arm. The blond-haired man howled in pain, dropping the Buster Sword to the ruins below their feet.

Magus fired off another shadow spell at Sephiroth, but the latter ricocheted it back to the wizard, and Magus's eyes grew wide as the black hole he fired hit his own body, its dark energies consuming his flesh as he fell to the ground.

Sephiroth turned back to Samus, who had followed; he was holding Cloud in the air like a rag doll.

"I believe this kill is yours."

The Hunter stared at the two of them, both deserters to the army, their fates seemingly intertwined… slowly, almost numbly, she lifted the Master Sword and placed its cold steel against Cloud's face. He was shivering, and Samus knew it was not from the cold of the rain.

"Do it," Cloud said, his voice full of bitterness and barely suppressed rage.

"Before I do," Samus said, her voice shaking, "I was told to give you a message. It's from Tifa. She says she's sorry."

For a split-second as their eyes met, Samus saw a new emotion appear on Cloud's face, but before she could place it it disappeared.

"You tell Tifa," Cloud said, "that she has nothing to apologize for."

"Will do."

She drew the Master Sword away from Cloud, then swung it as hard as she could; a burst of light shot from its tip, pushing Cloud off of the Masamune and penetrating the former soldier through the heart. He landed some feet away, twitching momentarily before falling still.

The two of them stood there in silence for a few seconds, letting the rain wash over their tired bodies. Finally, it was Sephiroth who spoke.

"You and I both have much to answer for, Samus. But you will not kill me today."

And Samus knew he was right, that it would be her mentor, the one who had taught her everything, who would have the final word one last time.

"You deserve better. You deserve to kill me when you are fully rested, when the world is not against you."

At this, she grimaced. "The world has always been against me. You of all people should know this."

"The world is a neutral party, Samus. It takes no sides, nor does it want them. _You_ of all people should know this." He flapped his wing once more and flew into the air. "I will be waiting for you, when you are ready. You will know where to find me. Until then…"

And then he was gone, and Samus watched him fly into the sky until he was completely out of sight, beyond the storm clouds and the rain and the false promises of brighter tomorrows.


	15. Hunted

**15. Hunted**

The man and the woman looked around at the small clearing.

"Looks like they got away," the woman said.

The man shrugged. "There's always next time. It'll give us something to do, after all..."

"Sheesh," the woman said. "I didn't think I'd be spending my time in the Mercs doing menial crap like this."

"Hey, at least we're away from the base for once. Speaking of which, we should probably head back."

The two partners made for the small craft that would take them airborne to the secret base of the Mercenaries. As they climbed in, a small 'thud' issued from beneath the cockpit.

"Did you hear that?" the woman asked.

"Probably just a bird or something," the man said. "Come on, let's head back."

The ship turned on, quickly using its thrusters to become airborne; within moments, it had disappeared beneath the thick clouds and was hurtling through the sky. The man and woman rode in silence, the woman looking out at the view beneath her, the man focusing solely on his piloting.

After what felt like half an hour of speedy transport, they had arrived. A massive complex, suspended by a miniature island, loomed before them; it looked to be one major building surrounded by several small ones. The ship veered for the main building as the craft beeped and confirmed their approach.

A hole at the bottom of the island opened up for them, and the ship entered the complex; they were surrounded by darkness at first, and then the dull light of a garage beckoned.

"Craft 338, you are preparing to dock," said a voice over the intercom.

As the ship slowed to a halt, there was a small 'thud' that issued again from below. The woman looked at the man, but he cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Just a tiny malfunction, probably. This hunk of junk is one of the older models, so we should definitely get a replacemen-"

His words were cut off as the door opened and a figure flung itself in, grabbing ahold of the man by the neck and suspending him high into the air. The woman instantly made for her pistol, pulling it out and aiming it squarely at the helmet of the intruder.

"Put him down!" she yelled.

The figure gave no indication that it had heard her.

"Where's Crono?" it asked in a female voice that dripped with menace.

"C-C-Crono..." the man gagged as his windpipe was being crushed.

The woman, taking no more chances, fired several bullets squarely in the center of the helmet. The figure turned slowly to her, apparently unharmed. It discarded the man, still sputtering, and made for the woman. Panicking, she fired several more rounds at the figure's chest, but the bullets just bounced off; one even hit the woman in the leg, and she cried out in pain.

"What's going on in there?" came a voice from outside.

"Where's Crono?" the figure asked again, pointing a miniature gun barrel that extended from her arm at the woman.

"I – what?" the woman sputtered, clutching her injured leg. "I – I don't understand!"

The figure did not move, as if studying the fallen woman. Finally, it spoke again.

"A warrior never abandons her target. Remember that."

"...what the fuck?" came the voice from outside again, peering into the small ship.

The figure turned around, and the intruding man gasped.

"You - !"

Then she lunged into his chest, tearing off the door to the ship as she did so, landing gracefully on the ground below. An entire room full of technicians paused and gaped openly as the injured man landed painfully next to her.

"Where," the figure asked, her voice magnified in the quiet room, "is Crono?"

"It's her!" somebody yelled. "Holy shit, it's her!"

As if on cue, a gun turret fired from the corner of the room, spraying bullets at the figure, jerking her limbs about a bit but otherwise doing no damage whatsoever. Technicians began to flee, running towards the door as the figure calmly raised her arm cannon and fired a missile at the turret. Shrapnel exploded throughout the room, injuring several as they attempted to flee.

The injured woman stared from the cockpit of the ship, trembling. What the hell was going on here?

The figure ran to the door, picking up more speed as it went, knocking over those who were escaping like bowling pins and shattering the door into pieces. As it did so, an alarm began to wail all around the complex, an announcement accompanying it over the intercom.

"INTRUDER ALERT. ALL MERCENARIES REPORT TO THE MAIN DOCKING BAY, WEAPONS INTACT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

* * *

"Sir! Sir, she's here!"

"I can see that, Tidus, thank you!"

The main control room of the floating battle station was flashing red, as was the rest of the compound. The superior officer watched on the screens, his mouth open in disbelief.

"I don't believe it. She found us!"

"She's going to kill all of us!" Tidus stammered. "Holy shit, dude!"

"Agent Tidus, march down there and defend your citadel!"

"Are you off your gourd?" Tidus yelled. "I'm getting an escape pod and getting the hell outta here! You didn't see what she did to Lara! I'm not making that same mistake!"

"Dammit, Agent! Now is _not_ the time to be a coward -"

The superior's rant was interrupted by sounds of an explosion from one of the monitors, which soon faded into static. He scowled, turning to the teenage boy behind him.

"Well, Agent Crono, it seems you were right: we were unable to protect you. However, you now have the full might of the Mercenaries on your side."

Crono had already unsheathed his Rainbow, grinning like a maniac. She had come here to kill him – for the first time since she had woken up, _she_ had come to him, proving that he was truly worthy of being hunted. He had left Magus to die at the ruins of Midgar; the lives of his other fellow Mercenaries meant just as little to him.

This kill would be his, and his alone.

* * *

Samus dashed through the hallways, the Master Sword in one hand and a seemingly endless volley of plasma streaming through the other. Gun turrets were firing at her from all angles, cutting down innocent people who were trying to flee. Her visor was trying to stream a map of the facility; if Crono was anywhere, he'd be waiting for her at the top of the building.

A door to her left opened and out spilled fifteen or so uniformed troops, all brandishing swords. The one in front yelled, "There she is! Charge!"

Samus wasted no time, dashing over and chopping off the leader's arm with the Master Sword; as he screamed, falling to the ground, she shot missiles at the two other charging troops and plasma shots at another. One woman yelled, charging at her with a large blade; she parried her shots, ducking underneath a heavy blow and firing her grappling hook at the woman's sword, knocking her off-balance and lopping off her head with her own blade. Blood spurted out everywhere as Samus dropped into morph ball form, laying bombs at the troops' feet; one sent her flying up into the air, and she grabbed onto a nearby scaffolding, covering the ground in heavy flames.

"Stop her! SOMEBODY STOP HER!"

She dropped, landing painfully on one of the troops with a crack, firing another missile into one of them. The rest, she was amused to see, were quickly retreating.

The Hunter pursued, not because she wished to kill them, but because she was still trying to find the highest point. She arrived at an elevator and hopped inside, pressing the buttons for the top floor as she did so.

Quickly she noticed something was wrong: she spun around as a sword curved past her helmet and the user of it decloaked himself.

"Die!" he yelled, slashing at the power suit as the elevator lurched into movement. She shot out a wave of light from the Master Sword; he attempted to block the shot with his sword, but it was obvious that these weapons were not as well-crafted as the ones the Noble Nine had used, and the blast stunned him. Samus screw attacked him, tearing a hole in his armor and skin, leaving him a bloody mess.

As the elevator doors opened, Samus was greeted with more Mercs, some of them brandishing guns this time. She instantly curved into a morph ball and laid a power bomb as she dodged the blows; a stray bullet hit the bomb and the room instantly exploded in fiery death, sending shockwaves that decimated nearby walls. Samus spiraled up as several others entered the room, firing missiles and ice beams at them.

One Merc, Samus knew right away, was different from the others, and drew two blades and stared at Samus with a hungry look about her face.

"Hunter. It's an honor. Face me in the glory of single combat!"

Samus charged at the woman, Master Sword at the ready; the woman blocked all of her attacks and connected with a few of her own: she was _fast._ Samus swung her weapon in an arc, the fiery room blazing before their battle; she struck the woman in the arm, but she too was wearing armor, and the Master Sword bounced off.

"I don't have time for this," Samus said. "Where's Crono?"

At this, the woman laughed. "You're here for that little boy? He's _nothing_ next to me. Nothing! Let me give you a taste of the Heavenly Sword!" She gripped her blades with both hands and combined them into one, swinging hard at Samus's face; the unexpected blow caught the Hunter off-guard, sending her reeling and knocking her vision out of alignment.

The woman laughed in triumph, dashing over to Samus's fallen form. "Nariko always wins, Hunter!"

Samus sprung up on her feet, firing a disruptive wave beam at Nariko, but the Heavenly Sword seemed to be made of stronger materials, and it absorbed the blow. She fashioned it back into two swords and lunged at Samus again, striking quickly and dodging nimbly. In response Samus tried to screw attack, but the Heavenly Sword was able to block most of the damage, and Samus landed back next to Nariko, scowling under her helmet.

Then a voice from her left yelled "CHAOS CONTROL!"

A black blur appeared from nowhere and punched Samus hard in the stomach, toppling her off-balance; the same blur soon reappeared, moving impossibly fast, striking at her repeatedly.

"Shadow!" Nariko yelled. "This kill is mine!"

Samus could see him now, a black hedgehog who reminded her irrevocably of Sonic. "We all know I am the ultimate life form, woman," he said. "And I will be taking down the Hunter today." He raised his hands and a glow surrounded them, taking the form of a spear. He hurled it at Samus, who quickly dodged; the attack cascaded into the flames, sending out a massive explosion.

The Hunter fired missiles at both of her assailants; Nariko cut it in half while Shadow dodged. Samus quickly fell back into the morph ball, laying another power bomb, but Shadow kicked it away and then shot more energy at Samus, who flew backwards. The power bomb detonated in the flames, toppling the wall to the next room.

Nariko lunged forward as Samus went back to normal, their blades clashing as rubble descended all around them. Then Samus was attacked by something sharp that almost managed to pierce her armor; she glanced over and saw Shadow wielding a massive gun. As the hedgehog fired again, she ducked quickly, and Nariko took the full brunt of the blast as it pierced her armor.

"Damn you, Shadow!" she yelled, clearly in pain, dropping the Heavenly Sword; Samus took the opportunity to leap into the air, grabbing flaming rubble with her grappling hook and hurling it at Shadow, who continued to dodge everything she threw at him. Eventually a heavy chunk of the wall connected and the hedgehog fell to the ground, bleeding from the head.

Samus nodded, satisfied with her work. Nariko tried to stand up and reach for her blade, but Samus stepped on her fingers and kicked the sword away from her.

"Was this what you truly wanted?" Samus asked. "Was this the 'glory' you sought?"

"It was," Nariko said, a look of pride on her face.

"Let me tell you something," Samus said, raising the Master Sword. "There is no glory in death." She brought the sword down on Nariko's neck, slicing cleanly through it. She turned around to face Shadow, but the hedgehog had disappeared, and she dashed for the doorway, eager to locate her target.

* * *

"Dammit! Why is everyone evacuating?"

Crono paid his superior no heed, simply smiling and waiting.

"Bah!" The man turned around, pointing at Crono. "She won't leave this place alive. I'm going to activate the secret weapon!"

Crono arched an eyebrow, but largely ignored the man as he left the control room. Soon, he would face her... and everything would be right in the world.

* * *

The Master Sword sliced through more limbs as she made her way up to the main control tower, meeting less and less resistance the higher she climbed. Was this truly the organization Dr. Light had feared was taking over the world? Was this truly the best a Noble Nine-less planet could offer?

Her questions were answered by noises as she approached the highest peak of the citadel. She switched to infrared and saw what appeared to be a hedgehog-shaped heat mass dashing forward, followed swiftly by a very large number of warm bodies.

Samus switched back to regular vision, dashing forward as the bullets bounced harmlessly off her, accumulating speed as she went and bowling most of them over in her wake. She skidded to a halt, firing her wave beam backwards, stunning a good number of the ones still standing. Shadow reappeared next to her, firing streams of his strange energy mixed with bursts from his rifle; the Hunter dodged most of them, shooting back with her arm cannon, but the hedgehog kept dodging.

Three men from behind Samus slashed repeatedly at her, but she was too quick for them, slicing off the arm on one and the head of another. She screw attacked the third as he attempted to strike again, sending him flying. Bullets from both Mercs and gun turrets peppered the room, but Samus only had eyes for one thing: standing in the control room, overlooking the carnage... hatred filled her heart as she realized that Crono was simply waiting for her, letting his allies die just so he could face her alone.

She would make it quick for them and endlessly painful for him.

Samus laid another power bomb, and as Shadow went to kick it away she cut off his leg. The hedgehog howled in pain, and the bomb exploded, taking out most of the attacking Mercs. When the dust cleared, she saw Shadow attempting to stand. She pointed her arm cannon at him.

"I thought the Mercs hated animals," she said.

Shadow scowled. "Don't you all?"

"No," Samus said. "I just hate people who get in my way."

A burst of superheated plasma, and it was over. Loud moans were emanating from those who were still alive. Samus dashed up the stairs to the control room, bowling over the door as she did so. The boy was waiting there, the Rainbow in his hand, a demented grin upon his face.

"You let them all die," Samus said. "Just so you could see me."

Crono nodded.

"Why? You've come after me three times, and you've lost every time. Don't you know me at all? Don't you know I won't stop until everything in my path is removed? Why would you do this?"

The boy was silent, as usual. Samus sighed.

"It ends here. No more throwing warm bodies in front of the bus just so you can get your sick taste of glory. Time to die, kid."

In response, Crono simply smiled even larger, raising his free hand to the air. A huge burst of lightning began to accumulate in his palm. Samus quickly fired a wave beam at the boy, but he blocked it with the Rainbow and shot the lightning straight at Samus's heart. She dodged the projectile and dashed forward, slashing with the Master Sword; Crono met her blows with some of his own.

Eventually Samus hopped backwards, shooting plasma shots and a few missiles at the boy; Crono, however, began to spin around in a lightning-powered arc, deflecting or absorbing the shots and charging at Samus, sword slashing in a circle. Samus parried the strikes, but a few connected with the power suit, and one in particular shot a jolt of pain up her arm cannon.

The Hunter quickly curved into a morph ball and then screw attacked, but the force of the lightning knocked her back to the ground, stunning her momentarily – and that was all the time Crono needed to fire another lighting burst at the suit.

This time, however, Samus smiled. Crono realized his mistake the split-second before the power bomb exploded, but it was too late – the sheer force sent the boy flying into the computer monitors, which then exploded.

As the blast dissipated, she saw Crono lying on the ground, clutching the place where, she saw, his left arm used to be. He looked up at Samus, his face blackened and burned, and slowly lowered his head. Samus raised the Master Sword up and curved it down towards his neck.

Then a low rumbling began to issue from below. Samus hesitated – then the room collapsed, as something very large crashed into it. The floor caved in – Samus jumped into the air and gaped at what she saw.

It was a massive, walking tank, with spindly legs and what appeared to be all manner of weaponry. The machine looked strikingly familiar to Samus, and she couldn't place where she'd seen it before. A voice issued from within, filling the destroyed room and bits of the stratosphere, as the citadel itself seemed to be collapsing.

"HUNTER! At last we meet."

She dropped to the ground as bits of the control room fell over the floor. She said nothing.

"I'd like to introduce you to the secret weapon of the Mercenaries, Hunter. It's a bit of a pet project of mine, one I've been working on for many years... I call it Metal Gear REX."

And then Samus remembered.

"...who are you?"

Even from outside of REX, she could hear the man smiling.

"Oh, you don't know me personally, Hunter. But I know for a fact you've met my dear old brother. Isn't that right?"

A deep coldness filled Samus, a feeling she hadn't felt since Sonic had died.

"Now, Hunter... you've killed most of my Agents and destroyed my beautiful floating citadel. But I know for a fact that everything you have is powerless against REX's might. Show me what my inferior brother has taught you, so that I can crush him once and for all!"


	16. Rejection

**16. Rejection**

REX made the first move, firing a bevy of missiles from its top half and a blue laser beam from its bottom. Samus shot her wave beam at the missiles and tried to dodge the nimble laser; she was disturbed to find that the missiles kept moving through the wave beam and honed in to her movements. She dashed towards the walking tank itself, hoping that the missiles would damage the surface – they exploded upon contact, but didn't seem to do any damage, and within seconds she was thrown off-balance by a shockwave from REX's center.

"What's the matter?" taunted Liquid Snake; Samus could hear the man's diabolical grin through the cockpit. "Where's all your training now, Hunter?"

She quickly stood up and tried to scan the weapon, but she knew it was fruitless – if this was the same Metal Gear REX Snake had told her of, its design was impeccable. She ran in the opposite direction, still avoiding the homing laser, when Liquid fired yet another volley of missiles. This time Samus latched onto some debris from the collapsed control room and flung it at the incoming missiles; it struck one of them and knocked it off course, but the other two reached their destination and exploded, sending her suit into electric shock – and sending her body flying.

Samus swore – she had been careless, and she couldn't afford to be. The power suit had taken the brunt of the damage, but she had still felt the impact, and it _hurt._ She landed roughly on the tattered ground, and the laser cut a path straight towards her. Samus braced for the sharp pain, but then the laser retracted – apparently she was out of its range.

i_So that's its flaw_/i, Samus thought – REX could attack long-range and short-range, but not both at once.

Almost at once, though, Liquid attempted to prove her wrong. The mechanical beast's leg crashed onto the ground, sending out more shockwaves that filled the entire room and further crumbled the structure; Samus suspected that the entire citadel would collapse shortly.

More missiles came from REX, and Samus dashed at the machine, running past the laser and screw attacking onto its head. It i_had_/i to have a weak point somewhere... the missiles, however, exploded harmlessly at its face, not even leaving a scratch.

A rumbling noise from below told Samus that the floating fortress didn't have much longer, and suddenly the path before her became clear.

She leaped back onto the ground and started running circles around the mechanical beast; Liquid, in his madness, was oblivious to her plan, simply taunting her with the blue laser, more missiles, and his accented laughter. Once the missiles hit the floor, however, he stopped laughing – the ground was caving in.

Realizing too late that he had effectively trapped himself, Liquid opened the cockpit in an attempt to escape – and that was when Samus struck, firing everything she could in his direction: plasma, ice beams, missiles. But the floor's collapse affected her aim, and she fell short of her target as Liquid laughed.

"It's over, Hunter!" he yelled. "I'll take you crashing down to earth with me!"

Then a burst of lightning issued from the rubble, squarely at Liquid's heart. For a second the mastermind of the Mercenaries paused, unsure of what had just happened. Then a trickle of blood formed at his mouth, and he fell, prone, out of REX's cockpit and onto the collapsing floor below.

Samus had no time to reflect on what had just happened – the ground beneath REX gave way, sending the machine and Liquid tumbling down. The Hunter wall jumped up around the rubble, finding Crono, still clutching his stump of an arm, a contented smile on his face. She nodded once to the boy, who stared back at her, a look of hungry anticipation in his eyes. She raised the Master Sword... and then slowly lowered it.

"No," she said. "No. I will deny you the thing you crave the most. It would be a more fitting punishment than killing you... for you to live every day, knowing that the death you seek will never come, knowing that the only one you ever wanted to be killed by _rejected you._ Yes... that would be quite a punishment, wouldn't it?"

Crono's mouth opened, as if to say something, but then the floor began to part between them and Samus jumped into the open air from above, leaving the confused boy behind.

The Hunter looked out over the land. The citadel would crash harmlessly into the deserted mountaintop below; no innocents would be harmed. She screw attacked up and down, making sure to sustain her momentum on the long drop down. Pieces of the floating citadel threatened to crash into her and knock her off course, but she managed to stay airborne until landing, gracefully, below. She watched the base of the Mercenaries land squarely on the mountain with a thunderous crash, shooting up clouds of smoke and sand and blood.

And then she let herself remember...

* * *

"_All he wants," Snake told me, "is to die by a warrior's hand. And he'll stop at nothing to do that."_

"_Isn't that... suicidal?"_

"_Probably. But he's a damn good fighter. One of the best. He'd have to be."_

"_I know. I trust you."_

"_You damn well better."_

_He reached over and kissed me on the lips._

"_I love you very much."_

_I smiled. "I love you too." We squeezed each other's hands and looked out at Shadow Moses Island: what a strange place to fall in love.

* * *

_

Samus walked away from the rubble, her back turned to the flaming citadel. She had ruthlessly killed anyone who had stood in the way of her personal war. Everyone she had targeted was dead – or, in Crono's case, as good as. Only two men remained in the way of her unfinished business.

So why did she feel so hollow inside?

There was an old Chozo saying about satisfaction... that it eluded all but the best of men, who were wise enough not to seek it. All her life – at least the part that she could remember – she had been a killer, an assassin, a warrior who sought pleasure and honor through combat and death. Had something inside her slipped away, never to be recovered again? She had been betrayed by those closest to her, and that thought was what fueled her... but what would happen when this was all over? When she alone remained among the Nine, and there were no more battles to be fought, no more personal wars to be waged?

Was this... remorse? And if so, what should she do about it?

It was too late to stop the path she was on now: from the moment she had woken up from her coma and realized that her child was gone, the way ahead was clear. Was this how Snake had always intended it? Had he kept her alive out of a perverse pleasure, a slight hope that he would see her again?

No. He burned that bridge. Any love they shared was gone.

She walked on through the plains and wondered if she was any better than Crono, simply waiting for death from a worthy hand, an electric current of suicide, a spark anticipating its own explosion. Two more remained, and for the second time in her journey Samus felt nothing except the grim anticipation of conflict and the false promise of satisfaction.


	17. Master for Master

**17. Master for Master**

Morning. His biological clock told him the time of day, and he saw no reason to doubt it; like everything else attached to him, it was in almost every essence of the word flawless. He needed a perfect biological clock here, where the sun ceased to exist and the only weather pattern was a small pitter-patter of rain.

The Northern Crater. The place where he was born, and the place where he would die.

He knew the rocky crags and the seemingly formless caves all too well. Inside the patternless layout of the Crater a small shack had once stood, cobbled together from bits of wood and rock. It was here that he had spent much of his life, training in isolation, and it was here that he had been quarantined when he had proven himself too dangerous. Said shack now lay in ruins among the catacombs, perhaps simply worn down over the years without anyone to care for it.

But he didn't mind. He was able to adapt to any environment, and he had built a small abode for himself where the shack had once stood, more out of habit than any other reason. He was many things, but he was not a sentimentalist.

In most areas.

He dressed quickly and efficiently, grabbing the Masamune from against the wall and strapping it to his back. Each day he meditated and trained for a bit, and each day – above all else – he waited. For her.

He extended his mind, reaching the far corners of the Crater, plunging both deeper into himself and further apart from himself. And then, at a distant plateau, he _felt_ her. Her presence burned, a bright red corona in the weatherless sky. He smiled.

Now, at long last, he would see how much she had truly learned.

* * *

Samus made her way around the crags. She had memorized the layout of the Crater years ago, and most of it still remained intact. She knew that he would be waiting for her, however, at the Crater's center, where they had trained together what felt like a lifetime ago.

Sure enough, there he was, standing proud, the massive sword sheathed to his back, before a smaller domicile that must have replaced the older one.

Sephiroth smiled. "I thought you'd never come."

To Samus's surprise, the familiar klaxons were silent as she stared at her teacher's face. "Liar. You've probably been waiting for me every day since Midgar."

"Too true. I've taken it upon myself to fill in the gaps since I was put out of commission. Am I to assume I am all that remains between yourself and Snake?"

Samus nodded.

"Then let us get right to it then."

"Before we do," Samus said, "I have a question for you."

"Always with the questions," Sephiroth said.

"What happened at Nibelheim? Was that really you that destroyed the town?"

Sephiroth's smiled faded quickly. For a moment he seemed lost within himself, as if trying to form the words.

"...no. It wasn't."

Samus nodded. "Thought so. Then who did?"

"When I traveled to Nibelheim to learn of my past," Sephiroth said, "I got the answers I sought, but at a terrible price. Cloud had followed me there, fearing that should I learn the truth I would become... unstable. We fought. He lost. Then he called for backup."

"You mean -"

Sephiroth nodded. "The fight was terrible. It was the last great outing of the Noble Nine, to destroy a quiet town and kill most of its people. I was overpowered and imprisoned. I assume that the group – what was left of it – disbanded shortly after this.

"Things were never the same after you were attacked. Snake became erratic, withdrawing himself from the others. Most of the morale was gone. The fight against me, I assume, only exacerbated the problem.

"Then I awoke at Midgar. I saw you, and the Master Sword, and realized quickly what was going on."

Sephiroth's face grew taut. "The day you almost died was the worst day of my life."

"Stop it. You may not have participated in the fight, but you stood back and did nothing while everybody else butchered me."

"I will never claim innocence," Sephiroth continued, "or ask forgiveness. What's done is done, and we must live with the consequences of our choices. But know this: you are the only one in my entire life who has ever seen even a corner of my heart."

Sephiroth raised the Masamune, smiled sadly, and curved it in a downward arc.

Samus watched him, then very slowly she raised the Master Sword and did the same.

"Now," Sephiroth said, "show me your true power."

Her teacher's eyes flared up and a jolt of pain shot into Samus's brain, paralyzing her. The Northern Crater faded out of existence, replaced with an empty coliseum surrounded by seats that extended to tips of the night sky.

Sephiroth charged at her, slashing the Masamune in an arc that shot out waves of raw energy at her. Samus ducked the blast and barely brought up the Master Sword in time to block the melee-ranged strike; Sephiroth moved quickly, slicing everywhere, and Samus was there to counter with strikes of her own. Eventually she broke away, shooting three rapidfire missiles at Sephiroth, who let them explode, sinking into the night shadows -

Something hit Samus hard from behind, and she went flying across the ground. She looked up to see Sephiroth in the stands of Hyrule's coliseum, hurling the seats at her with pinpoint accuracy. She screw attacked through the next one and fired superheated plasma at the man, setting most of the seating area ablaze. The flames licked her suit harmlessly as she ran, pursuing the black-caped man, but he took flight across the night sky, his one wing shimmering in the distance. She leaped into the air, screw attacking after him, and eventually they came to a familiar-looking city square, with damaged buildings and rubble strewn about.

The second she landed Sephiroth shot ice magic at her, which she countered with more flames from her arm cannon. Samus slashed the Master Sword, sending beams of light at Sephiroth; he blocked the assault with the Masamune, which seemed to absorb the shots. He raised it to the sky and a burst of light festooned out, blinding Samus.

The next thing she knew she was being forced into one of the nearby buildings as wood splintered all around them; Samus tried to resist, but Sephiroth had pinned her to the floor, and raised the Masamune above his head as if ready to impale her. The Hunter turned into a Morph Ball as Sephiroth's blade broke through the wooden floor. She laid a power bomb at his feet, but her teacher froze it with another burst of ice.

Samus ducked into the nearby hallway, finally coming to rest in a bedroom with blood stains on the walls. Scowling at what Sephiroth was doing, she charged her arm cannon, waiting for the man to appear. Sephiroth burst through the wall, sending the bedsheets and Sonic's letter to Amy flying across the room. Samus let loose with her charge shot, which hit the swordsman squarely in the chest; the room flickered for a second as she did this, but then surged back into reality as Sephiroth slashed viciously at her, making huge lacerations in the floor.

The weight of the combatants was too much for the room, and they fell into a laboratory-cum-basement, with tables and chairs upturned. Samus shot more missiles at Sephiroth; this time the man slashed the Masamune in a circle, and the force of his strike redirected the missiles back at her. Swearing, Samus curved back into morph ball, dashing at Sephiroth and then screw attacking him. A sound like a buzzsaw on steel filled the room as the screw attack met the raw force of the Masamune, and for a second Samus saw Sephiroth's eyes, watching coolly as sparks flew across Dr. Light's house.

Samus kicked out her legs from the screw attack, toppling Sephiroth off-balance momentarily; she followed up with an ice beam, hoping to freeze her teacher, but Sephiroth simply disappeared from sight. A split-second later, she heard footsteps running up the nearby stairs.

The Hunter followed, coming up from the stairs into the control room of the Mercenaries' floating citadel. Sephiroth was waiting for her, slashing once again through the air, creating deep fissures in the ground and walls. Samus dodged the blows, though one grazed her leg and she nearly yelled in pain – this attack, it seemed, penetrated even the defenses of the power suit.

Knowing that she could waste no more time, Samus charged Sephiroth directly, striking with the Master Sword in a flurry of blows, all of which Sephiroth countered. She swung the blade in an arc, hoping to penetrate Sephiroth's defenses, but the silver-haired man shot a fireball squarely at her helmet, disrupting her field of vision. As Samus cleared the air another powerful swing sent sharp pains through her abdomen; she curved into the Morph Ball again, but Sephiroth kicked her like a soccer ball, and she went flying across the room, landing unceremoniously against the hard wall.

Now thoroughly angry, Samus once again charged at her foe, picking up steam from the speed boosters in her legs; Sephiroth teleported away, and the room collapsed in on itself, revealing the rooftops of Midgar, with her teacher leaping from building to building. Samus skidded to a halt and pursued.

The structure she landed on teetered precariously, and she had to fight regain her balance; Sephiroth appeared at her side, sword at the ready, and Samus fired more missiles at him, not risking swordplay on a moving building. This time the silver-haired man curved the missiles downward, where they exploded at the floor, sending both combatants landing in a dimly lit church.

A deep howl of rage issued from within Samus; unbidden, it tore itself to the surface like a kraken rising from the ocean depths. She lunged at Sephiroth, striking with a fury that even her teacher could barely match; the two weaved in and out of the pews as Samus pounded at Sephiroth, furious with him for betraying her memories, for manipulating her psyche against her like this -

And then, suddenly, they were back in the Northern Crater, and Samus was holding the Master Sword through Sephiroth's heart.

Her teacher fell to the ground slowly, his silver hair flapping over his face. He stared at the Master Sword, draining his blood, with a look of curious bemusement.

"So... this is how it ends..." he said; his voice was raspier than Samus had ever heard it. "I would have always preferred... to have died by your hand..."

"You manipulated my memories," Samus said coldly.

"Consider it a final lesson... from your teacher..." He coughed harshly. "If there is one thing I wish I had known earlier, Samus... it's that your greatest power is in your individuality... your sense of self, your purpose... your memories... you have conquered your demons, and thus conquered yourself..."

Samus let go of the Master Sword, leaving it embedded in Sephiroth's body. She raised both hands and lifted her helmet off her face.

"I didn't want to train you at first, you know... but Snake insisted... he was always, if nothing else, a good judge of character... grant him his fate, Samus... grant him what he has been hoping for four years..."

Sephiroth finally let go of the Masamune; it clattered to the ground. He looked into Samus's eyes and she could see that he was crying.

"Thank you..."

And, with a last great shudder, Sephiroth slumped to the side, twitched his legs for a bit, and was still.

How long Samus stood there, she had no idea; the light rain began to mingle with her tears as she watched the dead body of the first person to have ever cared for her. He, too, was dead, complicit in the attack that had cost the life of her unborn child, the attack that had betrayed Samus far deeper than she could have ever thought possible.

That, perhaps, was Sephiroth's last lesson: that true self-awareness only comes when one has lost everything... everything except oneself. That was her true power: the capacity to always be there, the ability to adapt, the unwavering belief that she would be okay.

She raised the Master Sword into the air and slowly saluted.

_Master for master__**.**_


	18. Face to Face

**18. Face to Face**

"_Do not seek death; death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment."_

_- Dag Hammarskjold

* * *

_

"_Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."_

_- Norman Cousins

* * *

_

"_One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching."_

_- Unknown

* * *

_

It was snowing. The water around Shadow Moses Island had all but frozen solid. A few polar bears were playing in the snowbanks beyond the main tanker, gamboling about in their natural environment, and the only sound present besides their scuffling was the routine patrols of a cobwebbed surveillance camera at the gate.

A sudden shattering of the icy water broke the silence like a gunshot. A figure, clad from head to foot in the armor that had become part of her very being, stepped out from the shore. Impervious to the cold, she took a moment to pause at her surroundings, to see the building and the life she had thought she had left behind.

The polar bears fled – they, like everything else here, seemed to know and fear her. Even within the warm confines of her suit she could feel the oppression, and the simple truth that she was not welcome here was staring her right in the face.

And yet he had not changed the coordinates, had kept everything exactly the same as she had remembered it. She silently approached the tanker, lifting the metal door with ease. No alarms greeted her approach.

_He's waiting for me._

As the whole complex of Shadow Moses stretched out before her, she closed her eyes, and remembered.

* * *

The church's dusty interior had lent itself well to making a quiet home. The pastor and his wife had graciously offered her lodging at no cost – what pious folks could turn down a woman with child? She smiled, patting her belly, three months into her pregnancy. It was a smile that no one, not even her former allies, had seen her make: this was the smile of someone who now lived for another human being.

Still smiling, she walked outside onto the rickety wooden steps of the church. She closed her eyes, breathing in the air. A quiet, desolated town in a desert... she would stop here, and then escape quietly into the night, making a new life for both herself and her unborn child.

"Hello, kiddo."

She jumped, turning on the spot to the voice. It couldn't be...

The two stared at each other, the dust of the desert rolling past and vultures circling above the church.

"...how did you find me?" Samus asked, her voice trembling.

Snake shrugged. "I'm the man."

Samus stared down at the ground. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again..."

"We all think a lot of things," Snake replied. "Doesn't mean they're all true." He surveyed the church, as if looking at it for the first time. "Nice little shack here. Yours?"

Samus laughed. "Not quite. They're letting me stay here for a little while."

"I see."

They fell silent again.

"Come to pay your last respects?" Samus asked.

"Something like that, yeah. Just wanted to see the most beautiful pregnant woman I'd ever met in my life."

"Flattery was always your selling point."

Snake smiled, staring at her extended belly. "Makes me sad to lose somebody like you... but I know you'll be in a better place. Why don't you show me around?"

Samus smiled. "Not much to see. I sleep under the organ. I've never needed much."

"I'm in town. Might as well make the most of it."

"...alright. Let me give you the grand tour."

The two walked into the church, letting the light from the rafters wash over them.

Then Samus fell to the ground, caught unawares by a blow to the back of the head.

"I always wanted to do that," Link said, holding the blunt end of the Master Sword aloft as more footsteps ran into the church.

Snake nodded. "You know what to do."

* * *

She ran a finger absentmindedly along her stomach. She had lost so much that day... she was under no illusions that she would get it all back, but at the very least she would dole out justice.

There was an old Chozo saying about death, that it is life's only true measure of satisfaction. Samus respectfully disagreed, walking past the empty hallways and entering the familiar elevator. Life, to her, was eternal satisfaction, so long as you knew what you wanted – and she knew, more than anything else, what she wanted right now.

As she stepped off the elevator and entered the next room, she paused. A misty river of sorts stretched out before her, covering the entire room. She stared at it, knowing full well what it would mean to step into the water, cursing herself for not thinking that Snake would have moved it to a place where she could be hurt by it.

The river had been here since before the Nine had used the island, and Snake used it often for training. It was a magical river where, in order to progress to the end, the traveler would be forced to confront their demons, often represented by the souls of those they had killed, though death was not necessary for an appearance. Bracing herself, knowing full well what lay beyond the river, she stepped in.

At once seven shapes appeared around her, forming the "ghosts" she knew she would see. She stared each one in the eyes as she walked across.

Link watched Samus pass, his eyes traveling to the hilt of the Master Sword, arms crossed over his chest. He looked younger than he had when Samus had known him, and his blonde hair shimmered atop his capless head.

Mega Man was in his original body, not the upgraded "X" version the Mercenaries had given him. He ran a blue-gloved hand through his shaggy black hair and gave Samus a little smile.

Sonic had no lines on his face from the past four years of being confined to a wheelchair; he was vivacious, as he had been before Samus had killed the guardian of Angel Island. His arms too were folded, and he stared at Samus expectantly, as if waiting for her to hurry up and end it already.

Mario held his trademark cap in hands, watching Samus cross with a neutral expression on his face. He looked, as always, perpetually the same: middle-aged, calm, quiet, an eternal mystery.

Cloud frowned as she walked by; he was the one who had stood by the image of Nine the longest and had been most hurt by its separation. He stared at Samus with a hungry look in his eyes, perhaps seeing the deaths of those who had stood between them – or, perhaps, simply wishing he was in her place.

Crono had both his arms, and he too looked at Samus as if he were gazing at a last meal. He made to grab the Rainbow, sheathed to his back, but as Samus crossed him, his hand fell limply to the side, and he grew still.

Sephiroth stood at the end of the river. He was shirtless and smiling more broadly than Samus had ever seen him, the black wing gone from his side, his student having surpassed him. He was finally at peace.

Samus walked past all of them, the final images of those she had cut down to reach this point. They followed her as she waded across the river, and when she stepped fully out of it they disappeared into the mist, the last remnants of the Noble Nine scattered to the winds.

Snake's chambers were just ahead. Samus walked at an even pace: whatever came next, she had accepted her fate. She reached the living quarters and arrived at the very end, where she knew Snake's room to be.

She opened the door.

"Freeze, Mommy!"

A little girl with blonde hair ran around the corner, holding a small toy gun, an expression of mock toughness on her face.

"Psst, kiddo," said Snake, rounding the corner, "this is the part where you play dead."


	19. Warriors

**19. Warriors**

Samus stared at the little girl. Her face was identical to her own: the curved cheekbones, the chin, the length of the hair. But her eyes...

_Snake's eyes._

She removed her helmet, gaping openly at her long-lost daughter.

"You gotta play along, Mommy," the little girl whispered, still holding the gun to Samus's body.

"...oh!" Samus yelled, clutching her side in false pain. "You... you got me!"

"Nice shootin', Sammie," Snake said. "You've got your mother's aim."

"Time to take you prisoner!" Sammie said, approaching Samus and holding out what appeared to be invisible rope.

Samus just stared at her, and then she broke, the past four years of pain and heartbreak finally washing over her. She grabbed her daughter and embraced her in a tight hug, sobbing openly.

"Mooooommy!" Sammie protested.

"I told you she'd act like this," Snake said; she could hear the smile in his tone.

Samus broke the hold and ran a hand through her child's hair, letting it all sink in.

"You and I have tons of unfinished business, kid," Samus whispered.

* * *

She had left the power suit and the Master Sword in her old room, and had spent the last hour – two hours? Three hours? Who could even tell? – playing with Sammie, reading her stories, tucking her in and watching an old movie. When she was confident that the girl was asleep, she crept out of the room, strapped the Master Sword to her back, and walked down the hallway into the common area.

"You look good," Snake said, casually examining a magazine with his one remaining eye.

Samus said nothing. She wasn't sure what would happen if she spoke, if it would all crumble away, like some long-forgotten dream.

"Flattery was always your selling point," she said quietly.

"Too true." Snake sat down in a chair in the corner. The two stared at each other over what felt like the vast distance of all time and space.

"It's good to see you," Snake said.

"I wish I could feel the same," Samus said coldly.

Snake chuckled. "You always knew how to hold a grudge. Anyway, there's some things that we need to discuss."

Samus simply nodded.

"Why did you run out on the Noble Nine?"

"Little too late to be asking questions, isn't it?" Samus whispered.

"It's never too late to learn," Snake said.

"And that's not the question you should be asking," Samus continued. "You really want to know why I ran out on _you."_

Snake said nothing.

"When I found out I was pregnant," Samus said, "I knew I couldn't go on living my life the way I'd been. The Nine was falling apart. You were falling apart... I knew you'd try to claim her, to raise her in this world for warriors you loved so much. I... I didn't want that."

"And you couldn't have told me this?" Snake asked.

Samus shook her head. "Do you honestly think you would've understood? Do you honestly think you wouldn't have reacted that way? I loved you, Snake, with all my heart... but even I knew that you loved the mission more than me."

"You're wrong," he said quietly. "I never loved the mission. I never told you... never told you how I got my codename, did I?"

"I was the Hunter. That's all I knew."

"They called me Big Boss on the battlefield for a reason. My mentor... she sacrificed everything to bring peace to the world, or at least fend off war. I had to honor her memory, to make a world where things like that wouldn't have to happen. The day she died... I died as well."

He paused, staring up at the ceiling, though Samus knew that his attention was completely focused on her.

"I didn't think such a dream would be possible until I fought against my brother Liquid. He had the same ideals I did, just warped beyond all recognition. I wanted a world for warriors so we could honor our heroes. He wanted the world so the common people could be trampled like dogs. We fought. Repeatedly. I won. I made it my mission to find and kill the rest of his team, so Liquid's dream would die with him."

"But you failed," Samus said. "I met Liquid. You let him regain power and try to take over again."

"I don't deny it," Snake said. "I knew that if I confronted Liquid, I'd see the truth: that I was no better than he was. I'd become what I hated, what my mentor had died fighting."

Snake stared hard at Samus. "Then you disappeared. I assumed you'd fallen in a mission. When I found you, and saw that you were pregnant... I... lost control."

"You _lost control_? That's putting it mildly."

"Then you told me it was my child. I realized what I'd done, and that the only way to atone for it would be to raise the kid myself. And to wait."

"Wait? For what?"

"For you."

"You let them all be slaughtered. You knew what I'd do to them."

"I've been less than a man for years now, kiddo..." Snake grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "We've both done some terrible things. I've done my best to atone for them. What about you? How can you go on living each day?"

"Now that I've got Sammie?" Samus asked. "That's easy. I'm her mother. Her protector."

"You don't have her yet," Snake said.

Their eyes locked. Samus reached for the sword, but then lowered her hand and threw the blade into the corner of the room.

"Today," she said, "we fight like warriors."

The two circled each other, never taking their eyes off each other. Samus made the first move, lunging forward with a punch; Snake caught her fist in his hand and kicked out strongly, but Samus dodged and headbutted Snake squarely in the chest, knocking him off-balance. He quickly recovered as Samus tried to elbow drop the man, rolling away and roundhouse kicking her legs, sending her flying.

Samus landed hard on the ground. Snake rolled towards her, grabbing her arm and twisting it painfully. She gasped in pain and tried to stand up, but Snake forced her back towards the ground. She kicked her legs out, catching Snake's head and knocking him away.

She stood up, dashing at Snake as he too got to his feet. He pirouetted around her punches, chopping down hard on her shoulder and hitting a pressure point between her neck. Off-balance, she struck blindly with another punch, which Snake caught – but this time, she raised the caught hand into the air and jabbed out with the other fist, striking him squarely in the throat.

Snake gagged for a bit as Samus seized the opportunity and kicked out his legs from behind him, toppling him over. She grabbed his head and clasped it tightly between her hands, preparing the final blow.

And there she stood for an eternity and a half, clutching the head of the man she loved, once and forever, as he laughed, his cigarette still in between his teeth.

"It's time," Snake said. "Time for your business here to be finished."

Samus nodded. "Goodbye, David..."

_CRACK.

* * *

_

The polar bears dashed out of the way as the plane left Shadow Moses Island, flying into the snow-dotted landscape. Its pilot stared at her passenger, asleep on her seat, a little trail of drool falling from her mouth. She absentmindedly rubbed it on her sleeve, then stared ahead toward the moon, the horizon...

The future.


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"_When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us."_

_Alexander Graham Bell

* * *

_

"_Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."_

_Harold Whitman

* * *

_

"_To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist; that is all."_

_Oscar Wilde

* * *

_

"FALCON PUNCH!"

The man lunged forward, his fist brandished in a spiral of flame. The force of the blow knocked his attacker off-balance, but it was nothing she couldn't handle, and within seconds she had grappled the man into a powerful hold from which there would be no escape.

"Gonna kill me?" The man sneered in his struggle.

Samus Aran shook her head. "Not today." She touched a hand to her helmet and spoke into the miniature microphone now embedded there. "Hunter to AVALANCHE. Target apprehended."

"Roger that, Hunter," came a female voice from the other end. "We'll await you at the rendezvous point."

Captain Falcon laughed roughly. "I thought you killed people for a living, chickie-poo. I thought you were worth a damn."

"I thought you were worth a damn too," said Samus. "Then I saw you running away like a coward when I stormed your little floating citadel."

Falcon's cheeks flushed, and he fell silent.

"You'll have a lifetime to get acquainted with your old Mercenary buddies in the maximum-security prison we've set up for you," she continued, dragging Falcon roughly by the grappling hook. "Hope you don't get _too_ bored."

After a few moments of walking, the man spoke again.

"Why?" he asked. "You killed a hell of a lot of people to get to where you are right now. You even killed the guy everyone says you loved. And now you're just going around playing world police? Why even bother?"

Samus paused, choosing her words carefully.

"Because," she finally said, "there's things that you kill for. And then there's things that make you never want to kill again."

"Huh?"

"There's an old Chozo saying about life: that it's always ending and beginning simultaneously, like a thread that's always being sown. I guess I just found a pattern in the thread that was my beginning."

"...I don't get it."

"I didn't expect you to."

The sound of the helicopter outside brought Samus back to her senses. Inside the aircraft AVALANCHE agents would take Falcon to the remains of the Mercenary base, salvaged and set up as a prison for those who cheapened human life by killing innocents, those who pretended to follow the ways of the warrior but only sought cheap thrills. Their time was over.

A world for warriors... perhaps, Samus thought, it was possible to be a warrior without lifting a weapon.

She loaded the man onto the copter and smiled, a smile that nobody could see. She'd wrap things up here and then head home for stories, cookies, and bathtime. Regardless of what had come before, regardless of what she was feeling now, regardless of what awaited her in the future… one thing remained certain.

Samus Aran was alive.

And that made all the difference in the world.

**End**


End file.
